AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So this chapter is kind of a filler but it's REALLY important and leads up to next chapter's cliffhanger and there are some new characters.

Only two of them actually come back later.

WARNINGS: Rated "M" for language, dirty thoughts, sex, innuendo, blood, violence and dark themes.

ENJOY!

xxxx

Annie and I were worried the entire time while we were on the plane—if Kevin was kidnapped then that meant that Jen was all alone with the girls at the moment. On top of that, if he was kidnapped, then who was behind it? Who would do that? Was Jen going to be all right until we got there?

"I think Chelsea did it." Annie said as I asked myself questions in my head.

I turned to her. "Really?"

"Yes," Annie nodded, "and this time we're going to take her out."

"I think that's a good idea." I told her. "It's just that…we don't know how to kill her and you know it, Annie…we've talked about this."

She nodded and the two of us talked for a little while before the plane landed and we had to get a taxi. Even in the taxi we were both really fidgety, and when we finally got to Jen's, we practically ran up to the door and ran inside. We were worried and we needed to make sure that Jen was all right—that everyone was all right.

"Jen?" I called out.

I'm putting the girls to bed…quiet, Lan. She said in my mind.

Sorry. I replied in hers and then I turned to Annie as I blushed just a little bit. "She's putting the girls down."

Make yourselves at home. Jen told me.

"She wants us to make ourselves at home." I said, and Annie nodded.

"Yeah she told me that too." Annie smiled at me.

Annie and I sat on the couch and as she turned on the television low, I shoved my hand into my pocket and I pulled out my cell. I looked at my phone, hoping the boys would have called by now, but no one had…they must be hunting. I wanted to know what was going on and whether it was a spirit or an angel…I really wanted to know.

"Worried?" Annie asked me.

I shrugged. "Maybe a little."

"I have a lead—well—it's pretty much exactly the same thing that happened last time." Jen said as she came into the living room.

"What do you mean?" Annie asked her.

Jen sighed loudly. "Well, last time we dealt with Chelsea, as in last time she kidnapped someone, she left a note—I got a note about an hour ago telling us where to meet her."

"Us? You're not going anywhere." I told her.

"Lan, don't start with me. My husband is the one who was kidnapped." Jen told me angrily.

I took a deep breath and channeled my 'inner Sam'. "But you have the girls to worry about. You can't just go gallivanting off and putting yourself in danger."

"You mean the way you did?" Jen asked me, putting her hands on her hips.

I frowned at her. "And look at what happened."

It hurt me that she would bring that up—I knew that hunting is what made me lose my baby…that Chelsea was the reason why I could no longer have children…still this wasn't right. Jen was a mother now, and I didn't want her to get into any trouble and she knew that…and yet she was still insisting on this. Annie and I could do this on our own—why was she doing this? I couldn't let Jen die…I couldn't let Kaydence and Minah lose their mother…I just couldn't.

"But you're fine, Lan. I know that you lost Casey, and I know that hurt you, and I'm sorry, but you came out of it fine, and so will I." Jen told me firmly. "You forget I'm stronger than you—my powers are more honed."

I bit my lip. "We wait until the boys come so someone can look after the girls."

"I called a sitter already." Jen informed me.

"Cancel on them." Annie said as I nodded.

Jen looked at her. "Why?"

"Because if Chelsea is willing to kidnap Kevin, she's willing to send some of her minions to kidnap the girls—so we need the boys to be here to watch after them." I explained to her.

If Jen wasn't going to listen to reason, then we were going to go ahead and do this in the most practical way possible. I trusted Sam and Dean with my life, and I knew that no matter what happened, they would protect Jen's daughters like they were part of the family. Kevin needed to be all right…because if he wasn't, hunting for me ended here…Jen was going to need me without him and I wasn't about to abandon her—never.

Jen nodded slowly. "Right—I'll be right back then."

"Jen…we can't do this tonight." Annie told her. "Not if you have to go too."

Jen turned to her. "Why not?"

Annie took a deep breath. "Because the boys are driving here."

"It's going to take them a couple days." I added slowly. "Are you sure you don't want Annie and I to just take care of this?"

Jen sighed loudly. "Fine…we have to come up with a strategy anyway…you two hungry?"

I took a deep breath as Annie nodded and I kind of decided to just give in because what could I do? Jen was determined to save her husband, who was the father of her children and I got that as much as I was against it. I understood her from both sides and I was actually hungry so I just decided that we were going to go with mine and Annie's plan and if food came with that, then so be it.

"Actually, yes." I told her.

Annie raised her eyebrows at me. "You've sure eaten a lot today."

"I guess I'm just really hungry." I shrugged.

"You've been really hungry for the past few days." Annie laughed.

I just rolled my eyes at her because I didn't feel like my eating habits were any different than they had ever been. Jen was making a face like she understood me, and that she knew that I was just a hungry person, but then we both looked at Annie and everything changed. I felt my face flush a little when Annie started to look at me strangely and I realized what was coming out of her mouth before it did.

"You're not like…pregnant or anything are you?" Annie asked me. "Because that would explain all the food, and all the sex and—"

"—I'll whip up some dinner." Jen cut in hurriedly and left the room.

I looked at her. "You want some help?"

"Nah, you two rest. I have to do something to keep my mind off of things." Jen assured as and then she nodded slowly and left the room.

Annie looked at me. "So…what was that about?"

I took a deep breath and motioned to the couch, Annie taking a seat and focusing all attention on me. This was hard for me to put into words but I knew there was no way past it—she had every right to know, and it wasn't like I hadn't mostly coped with it. So…I had to just get it all off of my chest.

"I can't have kids." I explained to Annie slowly. "I was pregnant and I lost the baby, Chelsea shot me, I had to have surgery, and I lost the baby…and the ability to conceive. So trust me, the hunger and the horny feelings are all natural."

Annie nodded slowly and took my hand. "I'm really sorry, Lan."

"It's okay…I've pretty much coped with it now. I mean it still hurts to think about obviously, but what's done is done and there's no changing it." I explained to her with a nod and then I looked at my phone again. "I swear if he doesn't call in the next—" I said, but them Dean's phone called mine and I answered. "Finally!"

"Sorry, Lanni." Dean told me, keeping a chuckle mostly in. "Sam and I were talking about some things."

I nodded at that. "How did the case go?"

"Was it angels?" Annie asked loudly so Dean could hear her.

"No, it wasn't angels. It was Father Gregory's spirit, but…Sam saw it, right? He was told to go and kill this guy that turned out to be bad news." Dean explained to me and I know he was still turning it all over in his head.

"It wasn't an angel." I told Annie, and then talked to Dean again. "Well the spirit was right about the others too."

"Yes but…when I chased him in my car, he got into an accident and this bar from this truck went through his windshield—and right into his heart." Dean added and then picked up after a pause. "It was—it was kind of freaky."

"Wow." I said nodding. "It's almost like it was really—"

"—God's will?" Dean finished for me. "Yeah…I'm still trying to get my head around it. So what's up with Kevin?"

I smiled a little at the fact that he was still turning over everything in his head, and that he was that much closer to being back with me. Also, it was nice that he sounded so worried about Kevin—that he cared so much about my other family. He was perfect…and I just wanted to be with him forever…was that too much to ask? Why was I so afraid to tell him that? To explain my intentions to him?

"Well, Chelsea kidnapped him." I told him. "We can't leave until you guys get here, either—the girls have to be watched and we have to have a force to go up against Chelsea all at the same time."

"Of course—Sam and I can get there by tomorrow night maybe." Dean assured me. "Another night I spend without you…you really do owe me."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah I do. I'll miss you tonight as well."

"Well I'm going to go ahead and turn in for the night, and we'll start driving out there more later all right?" Dean asked me.

"All right." I told him. "I love you."

"I love you too." Dean told me, and then we hung up.

"Kevin has a PS2, a GameCube and an XBOX." Annie said with a grin and an approving nod. "This is freaking cool."

I smiled at her. "Well let's play something before we eat."

xxxx

I woke up to laughter downstairs and dragged myself out of bed, my cell in hand, to go and see what was up. I hadn't bothered to fix my clothes or brush my hair, and when I got to the bottom of the stairs and saw Annie talking to three boys I hadn't seen since High School, I ran my fingers through my hair quickly and pulled it back. This was awkward and yet at the same time completely awesome—it was nice to see them.

"Morning, Lan!" Michael exclaimed with a grin. "I haven't seen you since graduation!"

"Yeah." I told him, smiling too. "What a surprise."

Annie smiled at me. "Karl was delivering our paper and he said he recognized me—took me a moment to remember that I broke his GI Joe before…yeah."

"I remember that." I told him and then I smiled and held open my arms for a hug at the third guy there. "How are you Lance?"

Lance smirked at me and I suddenly felt as if I was naked under his gaze but I accepted the hug and I was glad to see him. Lance had been my High School boyfriend…the on/off boyfriend that knew everything about me…even about demons and ghosts and my powers. He was just as attractive as he had always been, and yet I hadn't ever thought I'd see these guys again.

"I'm doing fine, and I see you are too." He said with a smile as we pulled away from each other.

I smiled and blushed a little. "What brings you all here this morning?"

"We were all going down to the bowling alley after Karl was done with his route—yes in the morning—and we thought we'd check in with Jen and Kevin, but Annie tells us that Kevin is on a business trip." Michael explained with a shrug.

"Yeah, so…um…" I began and then trailed off.

Karl took the moment to speak up. "Why didn't you tell use Annie was still alive?"

I knew that the question would come up eventually, but I didn't know how to answer it—it was far too early in the morning for me to think something up. Lucky for me Annie had been up longer and she had a story all ready to share so I was pretty much good to go and ready to let her do this.

"Because she wasn't sure that I was going to get better and our parents told her not to." Annie explained to them. "After I got sick and everything you know, they just kept me at the hospital."

Lance nodded slowly, skeptical. "It must have sucked to spend the last 16 years in the hospital."

"Well part of it she spent at a rehabilitation clinic." I told them as Annie nodded.

"Wow. Hard life." Karl told her, smiling.

Annie shrugged and smiled a little. "There are harder things out there."

"So…you guys staying for breakfast?" I asked them.

"Jen went to go and get some donuts." Annie informed me.

I nodded and smiled at them all again as my cell phone rang and I silently thanked the Gods for that. I looked at the cover and I couldn't keep my grin at bay—hearing from Dean was honestly the best thing in the world.

"Excuse me a moment." I told them all, going into the kitchen and picking up. "Hey, Baby. Good morning."

"Morning." Dean said happily. "We're getting breakfast."

I smiled and nodded. "Jen went to go and get us donuts because there are people here."

"People?" Dean asked me.

"Like people from Elementary through High School." I told him. "It's weird. I mean I never really expected to see any of them again, but I woke up and Annie was talking to them all like we'd never been apart."

"Oh, so like, old friends?" Dean asked like he was fine with me having people to talk to.

I nodded slowly. "Um…well…sure."

"Sure?" He asked me. "You just said you've known them since Elementary School—they know Annie."

I bit my lip and took a breath because I knew if Dean told me that there were three girls from his past there and one was his ex I'd be upset. Then again all of the girls in Dean's past were his special friends so I had every license to be worried there. Maybe it wouldn't worry Dean at all…maybe I'd be fine.

"My ex is among them, so 'sure' is the best thing I could come up with." I admitted to him as I shrugged.

Dean paused and then took in a breath of air. "Your ex? Do I have to beat this guy up?"

"No, you don't." I told him with a laugh. "As sexy as it is that you're now jealous and protective, you have absolutely nothing to worry about, I promise you."

"You up for a video game match?" Lance asked, showing up out of nowhere. "Annie's getting all excited about versus on some fighting game, so are you in, Cookie?"

"Who was that? The ex?" Dean asked suddenly. "Sam…get in the car, we're getting food to go."

I paused at the High School nickname and then what Dean said registered. "Baby, you don't have to get food to go—you can sit down and eat with Sam, it's all right."

"Right, and let you and this ex of yours resolve some sexual tension? I don't think so." Dean replied and I knew his mind was set.

"Dean, Lance and I do not have any unresolved sexual tension." I told him. "He's not my Cassie, so you're fine."

"Really?" Lance asked, and I knew he was joking but Dean didn't.

Dean made a derisive noise. "He better be there when I get there because I want to punch him in the face. I love you, and I'll see you soon. He touches you, and he's as good as a demon."

I smiled at that a bit—I loved him when he was possessive. "I love you too, see you soon."

I hung up and then I burst out laughing and Lance raised his eyebrows at me and I just smiled and shook my head. It was kind of nice to know that Lance was still the guy that I remembered, and I hadn't realized that he and Dean had anything in common, but they did and I was glad to see him. At the same time, I knew that I shouldn't be so happy to see him when he was my ex, and Dean was so not okay with him.

"So you have a boyfriend?" Lance asked me smiling.

"Yeah…" I nodded at him and then showed him the promise ring. "We're pretty serious too. He gave me this promise ring and I'm pretty definitely sure that he's the guy I was meant for."

Lance nodded at me. "Well I'm happy for you, Cookie."

"Thanks, I'm happy about it too, Cupcake." I told him.

Lance laughed at the High School nickname, and then we smiled at each other and Annie came bursting into the kitchen. She seemed so happy to see people from her past and to get to be somewhat normal and after our talk, I wanted her to just be happy and be free. I wanted her to have a normal life…being home just made me think about that more and I knew I shouldn't…because what if Dean definitely didn't want to have that?

"Do you mind if I go hang out with the boys until Sam and Dean show up?" Annie asked me and then she pulled the puppy dog pout on me. "Please…please, please, please, please, please?"

"I don't mind." I admitted with a laugh. "Have fun, but be back before dark all right?"

Annie smiled at me. "You sound like Mom."

"Thanks." I told her, loving the compliment.

Annie nodded and hugged me before she went back out of the room and Jen arrived with the donuts. Once we had all eat some breakfast, Annie and the boys left to go and hang out a bit, and I turned to Jen as she breast-fed Kaydence, Minah still playing in the play pen happily. She was the perfect mother, and I really wished her all the happiness in the world—she deserved it so much.

"That was weird." I told Jen.

Jen laughed a little. "Because you're used to being cut off from the world?"

"Exactly." I nodded at her.

"Then add on the ex on top of it all, and it's a lot to handle." Jen added with a nod.

I shrugged at that. "Seeing Lance wasn't a huge deal, but it made Dean kind of jealous."

Jen smiled at me and I looked at her and I smiled too—having Dean jealous was fun, and yet I felt bad for milking it like I felt like I was. I mean I was letting him know that I was his and he had nothing to worry about, but at the same time I liked him jealous…I was willing to keep him that way just a little bit longer.

"I bet you loved that." Jen told me.

I nodded at her. "I kind of like it when he's jealous and possessive, even though he has no reason to be. I'm his, and he knows he has me."

"You look like you need to do something." Jen told me when I paused.

"I need to go home." I explained to her.

xxxx

When I got to my house, I looked at the door and I ran my fingers along it—I was glad to be home. It was my house, and it was the place I had called 'home' for so long but…for some reason I really couldn't see it that way anymore…not unless Dean was there. What was that? I was happy and then I wasn't happy because I was devastated about losing a baby, and then I was happy again. But now, suddenly, I couldn't be happy because I wanted to be Dean's wife.

Wait a minute…I wanted to be Dean's wife? I had thought about potentially wanting to be married to Dean, but that was really what I wanted? I just nodded to myself and then I unlocked the door and walked inside, trying to forget about what I was thinking about right then. I mean in any normal relationship that was going this well this would be a normal chain reaction, right? No, no—I was thinking about it again.

"Well hello, House." I said as I shut the front door behind me.

I smiled as I looked around and every feeling that I had was telling me that I knew that I needed to be here. I wanted the albums, I wanted to sleep in here—I wanted to be in this house. I tried all of the lights and I smiled because the electric, gas and water bills had all been paid—Jen kept on top of that. Going upstairs, I looked around and then found the album I had come here for, but for some reason I didn't really want to leave the house—I loved my house. I missed it—almost as much as I missed Dean.

"Maybe I'll stay here and find something to do." I told the house. "We can get reacquainted and all that jazz."

So I sat down and wandered around, and went out to buy a little food and came back and hung out at my house by myself. Jen was doing fine with the girls and Annie was probably having a lot of fun with the boys, not to mention that Sam and Dean were driving and probably talking about something fun. My house and I were happy together, so forget everyone else.

I ended up putting a movie into the television I had moved up into my room, and I watched that while vegging out, eating junk food and lounging around in my nightgown. It was a vampire movie, and I loved it, and by then I had already told Jen and Annie that I was staying here and that Annie was welcome to come here too. I was happily eating some homemade apple pie when I got a call from Dean.

"Hello, Baby." I answered happily.

"Hey, Baby." He replied with a chuckle. "I was letting you know that we'll be there tomorrow—Kevin still alive?"

I nodded at that. "Jen called earlier and told me he was fine, and Chelsea had a time and place for us to meet her at tomorrow so I'm just here at my house all alone."

"Good." He told me. "Well not the alone part—Sam and I are trying to get there as fast as possible."

"I know, Baby. You're doing the best you can do." I replied with a nod. "I'm entertained with TV, I promise."

Dean chuckled and I knew he was shaking his head. "What are you watching?"

"I am watching Bram Stoker's Dracula." I replied, trying to sound Transylvanian. "I kind of love it, and Gary Oldman is sexy as sin."

"I can't believe you like trashy vampire movies…even though Winona Ryder was hot in that movie." Dean laughed and made a sound I knew all too well which made me laugh too because he was adorable.

I rolled my eyes too. "Sounds like someone else watches trashy vampire movies too—and for the record I actually don't like trashy vampire movies…just Bram Stoker."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Baby." Dean told me with another laugh. "I'll let you go to watch your movie and I'll see you as soon as possible."

I smiled and focused on his voice. "I love you, Dean."

"I love you too, Lanni." Dean told me. "I'll see you soon."

I nodded and we hung up, me smiling a bit because he was honestly perfect—he didn't say 'I love you' because he wanted to…he said it because he knew I wanted/need to hear it. It wasn't that eh didn't love me—he did and I knew that—it was just that 'love' wasn't a word that Dean Winchester said a lot…but he knew me well enough to use it.

I smiled and nodded, finishing my movie and going to sleep, snuggled into the bed and woke up in the middle of the night to arms wrapped around me. I recognized that watch anywhere, and so I turned over and smiled at Dean, kissing his lips softly. He'd stripped off all of his clothes and climbed into bed with me, and I was so happy to have him with me again.

"How'd you get in?" I asked, running my fingers along his bare torso.

Dean smiled a little, his eyes closed. "Jen gave me her key."

"What time is it?" I asked him softly, kissing his chest.

"Feels like five minutes since I crawled into bed." He answered, opening his eyes.

I smiled and kissed his lips this time, moving my body closer to his because I wanted to be closer to him. He slid his fingers into my hair as he kissed me back and held onto me, and I felt perfect. Dean was here, I was home, and I was loved and wanted…there was absolutely nothing else that I could ask for…

"You were driving fast, weren't you?" I asked him.

"Maybe a little." He shrugged and cupped my chin. "Where's my punching bag?"

I smiled at him. "I have absolutely no idea."

Dean smiled at me when I said that and kissed me again, kissing me a little harder when I ran my fingers along his chest and I smiled. We both knew where this was going, but it was no fun without a little banter…a little talking. Dean knew that, and when he pulled away and looked at me, stroking my jaw with his thumb, he smirked and it was all about to start here and then continue on.

"You remember this bed?" He asked me softly.

I nodded at him. "Yes…yes I do."

"You remember what happened in this bed the first time we met?" He asked again, elaborating on what he had said before.

"One big happy blur." I replied with a smile.

Dean nodded and returned my smile with one of his own. "You know…you still owe me $15.78."

"I bet I know something I can do that's worth more than $15.78." I told him, and kissed him as he wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

I climbed on top of him and pressed my body to his, his right hand rubbing down my leg to my hip, and sliding my nightgown up my leg. I ran my lips down to his neck, and he smiled as I bit his neck softly like I knew he liked and we both made a face when my cell phone went off. I wouldn't normally reach over and just answer my phone—I was learning from my mistakes and Dean was in the mood right now—but I recognized the ringtone and had to answer it.

"Don't get it." Dean whispered, moving his fingers in ways that I was used to. "I'm kind of enjoying this."

I smiled, nodded, and pulled back. "It's Jen's ringtone…I have to get it—it's probably about Kevin."

"Fine." He said, and he pouted as I sat up on him a little straighter and put the phone up to my ear.

"Hi, Jen." I told her.

Jen didn't waste anytime talking. "Can we please get on saving Kevin now? It's almost time for us to leave to get to the warehouse."

"It's really that late?" I asked her and nodded when she told me it was. "Yeah, Dean and I will be there soon."

I hung up and got off of Dean, watching him get up and go to grab his clothes. I honestly didn't know if he had brought Sam with him or left him at Jen's, and I sighed a little and got up, wrapping my arms around his torso before he had a chance to put his shirt on. He knew we had to do this, but at the same time he really didn't want to, and when I kissed his back softly, he relaxed a bit. It was the perfect time to talk to him and I knew I could make it up to him if I tried hard enough.

"After we save Kevin, we're going to need a bath don't you think?" I asked him with a soft shrug, kissing his back again.

Dean chuckled and I loved the feeling of his muscles moving as my body was pressed against his. Everything about this man was magical, and I really wished I didn't have to let him go either, but as happy as I was right then, Jen wasn't…and Jen meant everything to me. Her husband was missing and I needed to help her to find him—so Dean was just going to have to wait, and he understood that…just another thing about him that made him so damn wonderful.

"Absolutely." He replied with a nod.

"I really do love you, you know. If I could spend every waking moment with you, I would." I told him. "I meant what I said about not wanting to live without you."

Dean turned around and kissed me tenderly. "I don't want to live without you either, Lanni."

"You know, I don't think I deserve you." I told him softly, running my fingers along his abs slowly.

"No…you deserve better than me, but you chose me, and that's what matters." He said with a cheeky grin on his face.

I laughed a little and kissed him, pulling away reluctantly. "The faster we save Kevin, the faster we get to do what we want to do."

"Then let's go." Dean replied with a nod.

xxxx

"I want to kill Chelsea this time, guys—once and for all." Jen said and then she sighed. "We need that fucking rune."

I smiled at her a little. "I haven't heard you swear in a while Jen…I kinda missed it. Sam? Dean?"

"Yeah, Lan?" Sam answered with a smile on his face because of what I'd said to Jen.

"The girls and I need you two to stay with Minah and Kaydence. Secure the perimeter of the house." I explained to them.

Dean shook his head. "No way—Sam and I aren't just letting you three run off up against Chelsea again. Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"Annie, Jen and I are going to be fine, Dean. Jen and I have Annie this time if Chelsea tries to get away." I told him and took a breath. "You and Sammy will be just fine. Chelsea will kill Kevin if either of you are there, and judging by how strong she is now, that's not an exaggeration."

"I use formula now anyway." Jen lied, knowing neither of them wanted to test out warm breast milk if the girls woke up. "They were really wearing out my boobs and this way, Kevin gets them just as much as I do."

Sam tried to hold back a laugh. "Oh…well that's better."

"And they'll most likely sleep the whole way through it anyway." Annie told them with a shrug.

I nodded in agreement. "You'll be fine, I promise."

The three of us just really wanted to get out there and find Chelsea—kill her in a way that would make her stay away longer this time. Jen had already figured out some perimeter spells so that this wouldn't happen again, and Annie was pretty sure once we did this, Chelsea would have a new target anyway—we just didn't know if it would be her or me…we'd have to wait and see on that.

"All right. We'll do it." Dean said with a nod.

"Thanks, Baby." I smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

He nodded at me. "But you owe me."

"I know." I laughed as he smiled a little, and then I turned to Jen and Annie. "Let's go guys…it's now or never."

Annie nodded at that, and then she, Jen and I left the house to go and meet Chelsea where she had wanted us to meet her. As we walked, Annie handed us each these pendants she and Jen had made the night before—they were to ward of vampires. The two of them had bonded with each other and Sam while Dean and I were in our house all on our own and I was glad they all got along—that both of my families got along.

"So the plan is that I go on in, rough her up a bit, and then Jen takes out the guards and you go for the rune?" Annie asked me.

I nodded at her. "Exactly."

"Great." Annie nodded too, and we came to the building and looked at each other.

"Ready?" Jen asked us. "Because we have to have our wits about us so she doesn't do anything to Kevin, all right?"

Annie and I nodded and assured her that we were ready for this, and while Jen and Annie went inside, I scaled the building and got to the top floor, smiling when I saw Chelsea. She was just as I had always left her—that cheeky redhead with the attitude and the annoying habit of hurting what I loved. She saw me and she smirked, both of us standing there and facing each other.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Chelsea asked me.

I smiled a little. "It's time for you to stop coming back, Chelsea."

"I'm not ready to go just yet, Lanni." Chelsea replied, smiling a toothy smile at me. "Besides…you don't know how to kill me for once and for all."

"Don't call me that." I told her firmly. "You lost that right when you became a vampire."

"Are we just going to stand around talking?" Chelsea asked me in a bored voice.

I gave her a look. "We used to be best friends, Chelsea—you, Jen and I did everything together. We trained you."

The plan hadn't been for me to come in and talk to her, but I felt so bad for what Jen and I had turned her into. She had to have some ounce of decency still left in her, didn't she? I mean there had been a time that I had wanted to murder her for what she'd done to me—for killing my baby—but she was still my friend…I mean she could still be my friend, couldn't she? Or was I just trying to be as optimistic about that as Jen had once been when Chelsea was in fact really gone?

"You got me turned into this." Chelsea said, and part of me honestly found some humanity behind it. "You made me this disgusting being. There are vampires who don't feed on humans, Lanni. There are vampires who wish they weren't vampires. You—you made me this way…own up to it."

"But I am owning up to it, Chels. I have owned up to it." I admitted to her. "I miss you. I'm so sorry I did this to you…I wish you could forgive me."

She nodded at my words. "I wish I could too."

"I know Jen and I made this mistake, but we can't be held responsible for what you've done since you turned. Not that I want to point fingers either…but you did go use yourself as bait and wouldn't let Jen and I follow you." I reminded her.

"Yeah, I know I did, but you guys never made me feel included. You always made me feel like the weak link—like you just tolerated me." Chelsea explained to me with a nod. "After the fire, you were different, Lanni. You didn't care about anyone anymore and don't deny that. You just—you just wanted to kill demons. Then I died, and something snapped—you realized how much I meant to you, but not before I was already gone. Jen's the only one with real feelings around her…she and Kevin…I mean you didn't even realize how much you wanted Dean until he was dying—until I kidnapped him."

I nodded sadly. "You're right, Chels…but I'd like to think that I've grown since then…that I'm a different person than the shell of one I was after my parents were murdered. I'm sorry I never made you feel like you meant something to me…because you did…you really did. Chels, if you don't stop now, you understand I have to kill you, right?"

"I can't let you kill me, Lanni." Chelsea said as she shook her head. "As much as it pains me to do this, I have to kill you…I have my orders…"

"Then so be it, Chels. I'll miss you even more when you're gone for good." I promised her with a smile.

Chelsea came at me, but I raised my force field, causing her to hiss when she hit it. As I lunged at her, Annie and Jen came into the room, and Jen grabbed the rune while Annie kicked Chelsea in the face as Chelsea threw me across the room. I hit the wall hard and felt the wind get knocked out of me, looking up as Chelsea's attention was not on Annie.

"You brought Little Annie." Chelsea said, standing up and wiping the blood off of her lip, smiling. "This plan is working out perfectly."

She went for Annie, but Annie was too quick for her, using her powers to throw Chelsea into a wall, but not before Chelsea had thrown a knife, it hitting Annie in the side. I got to my feet and headed for them, appalled that Annie was now stabbed, but something made me pause. I could have sworn that Annie's eyes were flashing yellow, and I swallowed and closed my eyes for a moment before opening them again to make sure I had seen that correctly.

"You stupid…" Annie began, and pulled the knife out, her eyes flashing more—I had never been afraid of my sister until that very moment.

"Your father will be proud of you, Annie…embracing your powers like that…you'll see me once more. Goodbye, Jenny." Chelsea whispered, smiling at Jen and I before Annie used her powers to rip Chelsea's head off of her body, blood getting on all three of us before she turned to ashes.

"How did you do that?" Jen asked cautiously.

Annie shook her head and her eyes returned to normal. "I don't know…I really…I don't know."

Jen and I nodded at her and decided together not to bring up what had just gone down—not to ask about Annie's eyes flashing. The scariest part was that I could have sworn I'd seen those eyes before…not the same ones, but ones very similar. To top it off, what exactly had Chelsea meant by 'your father'? Was it possible that this was just all some trap? Just a trap to get Annie to embrace the psychic powers within her…did this have to do with the demon's plan?

"She's sorry, Jen." I told Jen, changing the subject to Chelsea. "She was really sorry."

"Chelsea?" Jen asked me skeptically.

I nodded slowly. "I think I might have gotten through to her."

"You think this was all part of the demon's plan?" Annie asked us, changing the subject back to the important things.

"Anything is possible, Annie." I told her with a sad smile.

Annie nodded and bit her lip. "I really hope she didn't mean the demon."

I nodded again because I had hoped she hadn't meant him too. Then it hit me for a moment—Annie's eyes had flashed yellow…the color of the demon's eyes…what if…no…that would be ridiculous. I wasn't going to give it another moment of thought because it was just a ridiculous notion.

"Jenny?" Came Kevin's voice.

"In all of this, I almost forgot about Kevin!" I cried, hurrying over to the closet in the room and all of us letting him out.

"Thank you for forgetting me." Kevin told me and then looked around as Jen hugged him. "What the—there's blood everywhere."

Jen nodded into him. "Annie killed Chelsea…I just wish it was for once and for all."

"Wow." Kevin told her. "You must be quite the powerful one."

Annie still looked really shaken up and Kevin rubbed his head as I reached over and pulled Annie to me. I wanted her to feel like she was going to be all right, even though I was freaked out too—I mean she'd done that to Chelsea with her mind. What else could she do? What the Hell was going on around here?

"Kevin, are you all right?" Jen asked him, looking him over for cuts and bruises.

"I think I'll be okay." He assured her with a smile. "I'm just a little roughed up. She never actually intended to hurt me…this was all a trap."

Jen nodded and then she smiled. "I'm just really happy nothing happened to you."

"Let's get back to the boys." I replied, taking Annie's hand and looking her in the eye. "It's going to be all right, Annie."

Annie just nodded, though I wasn't quite sure she believed me—why should she? I didn't know what was going on or what all of this meant, but we had the rune…which meant we were that much closer to figuring everything out. Knowing Jen though, she wanted to study it first—Kevin would demand she do that anyway—and so we just shook things off, and went back to the house and Dean came over to us.

"You're covered in blood." He said, looking us all over.

I nodded and shrugged. "Annie killed Chelsea in a pretty violent manner."

"Well I guess I'm glad to hear it." Dean told her.

Annie just nodded and went into the downstairs guest room and Dean gave me a look as Jen and Kevin went upstairs to get cleaned up. He knew something was up with her and I took a deep breath, knowing I had to fess up. Just in case though, I was going to have to fib a little like every other demon part of my past…I was getting sick of it. Dean deserved to know…he deserved to know that my father was a demon…but now?

"What's going on?" He asked me.

"Annie…Annie's eyes flashed before she killed Chelsea. Annie—Annie's afraid because Chelsea said the demon would be proud of her." I explained, looking at the floor and then back up into his eyes. "I just—I was actually afraid of her for a moment."

I felt my lip tremble and Dean wrapped his arms around me and then rested his fingers under my chin, lifting my face up so he could look my in the eye. He kissed me even though I was blood-splattered, and I was really glad that he was here to help me through this. There were so many things running through my mind and I knew I couldn't handle them all on my own.

"Annie's not just going to go evil, Lanni. We'll save her and Sam—I promise you that." He told me. "You believe me, don't you?"

I believed him so I nodded. No matter what ever happened in our lives, I believed him and I trusted him…and I loved him. I loved him more than anything—more than life. I felt all sappy and mushy around him, and when I talked about him to everyone else I was bordering on sickening…but it was true…he had to know where I stood with him…had to know that I wanted to be his wife—he deserved that much.

"I love being with you, Dean. I want to be with you forever and I don't ever want you to question where I'm going to be. I want to be in your future, and I want it to be official, because I want to prove to you how much I love you." I whispered, kissing him softly.

Dean stroked my hair. "What are you trying to say, Lanni?"

I opened my mouth to say something when Annie came out of her room and came towards us. All I wanted to do was just blurt it out so I could finish what I was saying, but he deserved to have my news delivered differently than that. So I just turned to Annie and when I saw the fear on her face, I was alert—Annie was what mattered right then.

"Sam's gone." She told us.

I felt my heart break. "Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"I mean he took off." Annie replied slowly. "I mean he took off and I don't think he's coming back."

Note: I'm SUPER sorry that this one is kinda long and has a cliffhanger. At least it's only an 18 pager. But uh, the next chapter ALSO has a cliffy so be prepared. Feedback is always appreciated!