Sorry it took so long my dear readers but here's the next chapter! It's on the short side because I was stuck in a writer's block but things should hopefully begin flowing again.

By the way, what are your thoughts on the season 7 finale?

"We'll get him back. We'll call him, we'll follow him, or something. We'll call Bobby," Carter raved, dropping her duffel in their new room after they bailed the honeymoon suite. Carter hadn't stopped talking, sounding almost hysterical and Dean was slightly convinced it was because she had a concussion. He on the other hand hadn't spoken a word since Sam left in part due to the fact that breathing itself hurt and he couldn't imagine talking and partly due to the fact that he was angry and betrayed and just had nothing to say.

He was in the middle of a swig of whisky from his flask when Carter tore it from his hands. He was going to berate her for it but then watched as she poured the rest down her throat.

"I mean, what do we do from here? Where do we go?" she frantically looked to him.
"Obliteration," he swiped a beer from one of the coolers they had brought in from the Impala.
"No. Stop!" she furiously shook her head, frantically pacing in front of him, "We need to do something. There has to be something we can do. We can't just sit here!"

Dean was beginning to think she took a few more pulls from his flask when he wasn't looking. His head was certainly foggy and it was—in all likelihood—contributing to his bitter indifference.

Eventually, Carter calmed herself down enough to crawl onto the bed, wincing as she pressed her hand to the side of her head.

"Your head okay?" Dean asked, sauntering over to her.
"Hm? Yeah, fine. It's just a bump," she replied with a certain enthusiasm that told Dean she was most certainly buzzed.

"You could use a Band-Aid," she looked up at him.

She was completely serious but Dean couldn't help but chuckle, touching his fingers to the many cuts and nicks on his face.

"Yeah...I probably could," he nodded with a small smile, "Care to help me out, Doc?"

With a small nod, Carter edged herself off the bed, leading the way into the bathroom. Folding his arms across his chest, Dean leaned up against the counter as he waited for Carter to pull out the first aid.

"Down," she swatted at his arms and stood between his legs to dab the gauze over the cuts on his face. Carter was quiet as she did her best to wipe away the caked-on blood and sweat above his eye and on his cheek.

"Chin up," she instructed, tilting his head so that she could come at the cut on his chin at a better angle. Dean's foot suddenly slipped, his hands reaching out to Carter's hips as he tried to balance himself. His motion sent her body stumbling forward so that she was now using Dean to keep her on her feet.

"Honestly," she rolled her eyes, standing up a little straighter; Dean's hands sliding a bit lower to the back of her thighs.
"How's it look?" he asked, feeling the gauze brush over his lips.
"Congratulations, you don't need stitches," she wryly announced.
"Lucky me," he stood, taking Carter off guard as he picked her up by the hips, swinging her around and setting her on the counter, "Now let me take a look at that bump on your head."

"I'm telling you, I'm fine," she let out a slightly irritated sigh. Dean just ignored her with a small smirk, placing one hand on the side of her face and the other sweeping back her hair to examine the bump. The skin was a bit raised, surrounded by a good deal of brusing but it didn't look like she broke skin.

"Your neck's bruised," she quietly observed, her fingers smoothing over the faint purple marks on Dean's throat and neck. Her gentle touch sent chills down his spine and he relished in that feeling. But that simple touch, even if combined with the effects of alcohol, was not enough to make Dean forget the sting of betrayal Sam caused and he pulled her hand down, abruptly walking out of the bathroom.

Carter breathed another sigh and followed Dean out into the room, finding him with his face buried in his hands as he sat on the end of the bed. She curled up next to him, soothingly running her hand up and down his back.

"Dean, I'm sorry," she softly said, meaning it more than ever.

He didn't respond right away. He just stayed that way for a little longer before eventually bringing his head up to look at her.

"Is this what it what like? When Todd left?" he wondered, looking straight into her eyes.

A heavy sigh passed her lips as she thought back to that night. Todd would have killed her if it weren't for the Winchesters. But...Todd wasn't her best friend. They had separate lives when they were younger and then she died. When she came back she had only been with Todd a few months. Yes, Todd was her brother...and that betrayal certainly hurt...but...what Sam and Dean had...

Carter couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Dean was going through.

"Todd and I...we never had what you and Sam did...but...I can imagine that the loneliness you feel...it's like a black hole swallowing up everything good you have ever felt and you don't think you can trust anyone ever again. You want to punch something, hurt someone do something to make someone pay, but there's nothing you can do," she raved, Dean wondering how she could know exactly the way he felt.

"I know," she sadly looked at him, "That's how I felt when Logan died...and in a way, I suppose, you've lost Sam."

Dean just gazed at her, only one thing running through his mind.

"Why did you come back?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "You asked me to," answering as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then she dropped her gaze to her hands feeling her cheeks warm with shame.

"And...you were right...about everything," she confessed, not able to meet his eyes, "The angel spell took away my other one. And that son of bitch demon knew it...I'm so stupid," she shook her head, feeling the shame manifest itself into tears.

"Sometimes," Dean shrugged, garnering a small smile and chuckle from her, "But I'd say you're more naïve than stupid. You're usually just trying to help."
"Doesn't change the fact I'm completely useless now," she wiped away her tears but stopped when she felt Dean gently turn her head.
"You're not useless and you're not stupid," he firmly told her.

Carter's head was in a fog and Dean's words didn't quite register in her mind. One minute they were talking, and the next Dean's lips were firmly pressed to hers, lulling her into a sense of calm that overtook her entire body. His hand swept down the side of her face and he tilted his head to ease into a stronger kiss, their tongues colliding with a lustful vigor. Carter returned the eager gesture, sinking her fingers into the firmness of his chest and pulling him closer. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as Dean hovered over her small frame and relaxed her back onto the bed, his hand tracing a delicate pattern up the side of her body. But it was when his hand dipped underneath the fabric of her shirt that she flipped him over and stopped his transgression.

Dean didn't say anything. He just kind of looked at her, wondering why she stopped so suddenly. He noticed that she was trembling slightly, contemplatively chewing at her lower lip like she always did when she was nervous.

"What's wrong?" he frowned, sitting himself up.
"Why-why do you keep kissing me?" she hesitantly asked.

The question took Dean by surprise. He didn't really know how to respond. He didn't really know the answer she was looking for and, to be honest, he didn't quite know the answer himself.

"Well, I uh...I guess I...I don't really know actually," he unsurely told her.
"There's got to be a reason," she slightly shook her head.

Dean wasn't quite sure what she was trying to insinuate, if anything.

"Well of course there's a reason. If you haven't noticed, Carter, you've got a pretty rockin' bod," he said without really thinking and he certainly didn't miss the slight frown that passed her lips, "Why? Don't you like kissing me?"

"Yes I do but," she frantically started, her cheeks growing pink, "But..."
"But what?"
"I don't, want to be another Dean Winchester conquest," she slowly said, not knowing how else to say it, "I'm a hunter, Dean, not a challenge. I think I forgot that somewhere along the way and got kind of wrapped up in it."

"I don't think I'm following," he shook his head, trying to understand what she was saying.
"Just...please don't kiss me again unless there's something more behind it," she said, climbing off the bed and out into the night.

Dean watched her walk out the door with a slight twinge in his stomach. He didn't know if she was leaving him or just going to sober up in the cold air. She hadn't seemed mad just a bit unsettled. Making a move on Carter hadn't been his brightest idea of the night but it seemed like a good one, considering...

Carter frustratingly wiped the salty tears from her cheeks as she stormed across the parking lot. She wasn't mad at Dean by any means, just more pissed at herself for being stupid. It just amazed her that she let herself get wrapped up by that man when she had known all along that he was a womanizer. She had no deep rooted feelings for him but just fell for his suave, debonair act. It was embarrassing in a way. Carter was a professional. These past few months, she may not have been acting like it but she would be damned if she forgot her purpose again.

Sam, the apocalypse, the angels. It's all so much bigger than her and it's taken until now for her to understand.

"Carter."

Her heart jumped into her throat as she spun around to meet the owner of the voice.

"Cas," she gasped, taking several obvious steps backwards.

He merely stared at her with a certain look of disdain that unsettled the already troubled girl.

"W-what do you want?" she nervously asked, despite being able to feel his angelic power flowing throughout her body, "Are you going to kill me?"
"No," he firmly answered.
"Then why are you here?" she wondered.
"To give you a fair warning. The angels still need you to help stop the apocalypse. But hear this: the power you have, if you use it in anyway against our cause, we will strike you where you stand," he threatened, closing the gap between them, "Do you understand?"

Carter could only muster a small nod.

"Good. I will be watching very closely," he turned to walk away.

Carter knew she should be grateful that the angels were showing her mercy but that same spontaneity that made her question Dean, made her stop the angel from leaving.

"Cas, wait!" she called after him and he turned back around waiting for her to speak.

"I never meant to break that seal. I was tricked into it...and the spell, I didn't know that it would take away my other power. I only wanted it to help the Winchesters. You said yourself that I had to watch out for Dean. I didn't know of any other way," she calmly pleaded.

The angel said nothing before disappearing with the small flap of a cloak. But before he did, Carter swore she saw some kind of compassion move through his eyes...