Angel, Gordon, Dean and Sam sat around a table in the bar as a waitress brought them another round.

Dean reached for his wallet but Gordon dismissed him, "No, no, I got it."

"Come on."

"I insist." Gordon looked to the waitress, "Thank you, sweetie." He raised his shot glass to them, "Another one bites the dust."

"That's right."

Dean, Angel and Gordon drank to the toast but Sam was sitting back, arms folded.

"Dean." Gordon laughed, "You gave that big-ass fang one hell of a haircut, my friend."

"Thank you."

"That was beautiful, absolutely beautiful."

Dean grinned before taking a drink of his beer, "Yep."

Angel eyed the two before turning to her quiet brother, "You alright, Sammy?"

He shrugged as he looked over to her, "Yeah, fine."

"Well…" Gordon smirked, "Lighten up a little, Sammy."

Sam glared, "They're the only ones who get to call me that."

"Okay." Gordon put his hands up as Angel and Dean shared a look with each other, "No offense meant. Just celebrating a little- Job well done."

"Right." Sam glared, "Well, decapitations aren't my idea of a good time, I guess."

"Oh, come on, man. It's not like it was human." Gordon chuckled, "You've gotta have a little more fun with your job."

"See?" Dean grinned, "That's what I've been trying to tell him." Dean motioned to Gordon as he shared a look with Sam, "You could learn a thing or two from this guy."

Angel shook her head at that as Sam shifted uncomfortably, "Yeah, I bet I could. Look, I'm not gonna bring you guys down." He looked between them as he got up, "I'm just gonna go back to the motel."

Angel frowned, "You don't have to go, Sam."

"It's fine."

"Sammy?" Dean called as he tossed him the keys to the impala, "Remind me to beat that buzzkill out of you later, alright?"

Sam frowned as he caught them, sending a final scowl to Gordon before walking off.

Gordone turned to them, "Something I said?"

"Nah, he just gets that way sometimes." Dean dismissed earning another glare from Angel, "Tell you what, match you quarters for the next round."

"I think i'll head to bed too." Angel got up next sending both men a friendly smile, "Gotta catch up on my beauty rest, boys."

Dean nodded, "Night sis."

Gordon got up with her, earning a curious eye from both Winchesters, "Let me walk you to your door." He caught Deans glare but put his hands up, "No funny business. Just tryna be a gentleman."

"A hunter and a gentleman?" Angel raised a brow, "How'd we get so lucky?" Smiling, she motioned, "Come on."

On the way to the room Gordon watched her closely, "So how'd you get started in this mess?" She looked to him curiously, "What? I dont see alot of pretty hunter women where I go."

"Right." She sighed as she crossed her arms, "Uh, well… Our mom was murdered when we were kids and ever since then our dad was kind of consumed with finding what did it. He started taking me on hunts at twelve or thirteen, younger than the boys…" She shrugged, "Thought if i saw and hunted things first hand i'd be better equipped to keep my brothers safe."

Gordon smirked, "Doesn't look like ole' Dean needs protection."

"Guess not." She shrugged, "Must be an older sister thing." Gordon nodded before leaning in to try and kiss her, which she leaned back slowly to dodge, "I thought you said no funny business?"

"Right." He smiled warily, "Can't blame a guy for trying?"

She rolled her eyes as she turned to unlock her room, "Just go back to the bar before I kick your ass."

Gordon checked her out as she turned and smirked when she slammed the door in his face. Walking away he joined Dean again and they started conversing about the hunting business.

"So." Dean continued, "I pick up this crossbow, and I hit that ugly sucker with a silver-tipped arrow right in his heart. Sammy's waiting in the car, and uh, me and my sister take the thing into the woods, burn it to a crisp while we wait for our Dad. I'm sitting there looking into the fire, and I'm thinking to myself… I'm sixteen years old. Most kids my age are worried about pimples and prom dates. I'm seeing things that they'll never even know, never even dream of. So right then, I just sort of-"

"Embraced the life?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Yeah…" Dean nodded again, this time sadly, "How'd you get started?"

"First time I saw a vampire I was barely eighteen. Home alone with my sister. I hear the window break in her room. I grab my dad's gun, run in, try to get it off her. Too late. So I shoot the damn thing. Which of course is about as useful as snapping it with a rubber band. It rushes me, picks me up, flings me across the room, knocks me out cold. When I wake up, the vampire's gone, my sister's gone."

"And then?"

"Then… try explaining that one to your family… So I left home. And then bummed around looking for information: how you track 'em, how you kill 'em. And I found that fang- it was my first kill."

Dean frowned, thinking that would probably kill him and Sammy if it happened to Angel, "Sorry about your sister."

"Yeah. She was beautiful. I can still see her, you know? The way she was. You're lucky you still have yours." He shrugged slightly, "But hey, that was a long time ago. I mean, your Dad… It's gotta be rough."

"Yeah, you know… He was just one of those guys. Took some terrible beatings, just kept coming. So you're always thinking to yourself, he's indestructible. He'll always be around, nothing can kill my dad. Then just like that…" Dean snapped his fingers, "He's gone. I can't talk about this to Sammy or Ang. You know, I gotta keep my game face on." He cleared his throat, "But, uh, the truth is I'm not handling it very well. Feel like I have this-"

"Hole inside you? And it just gets bigger and bigger and darker and darker?" Gordon interjected, continuing at Deans nod, "Good. You can use it. Keeps you hungry. Trust me, there's plenty out there needs killing, and this'll help you do it. Dean, it's not a crime to need your job. Know why I love this life?"

"Hm?"

"It's all black and white. There's no maybe. You find the bad thing, kill it. See, most people spend their lives in shades of gray. Is this right? Is that wrong?" He shook his head before taking a drink of beer, "Not us."

"Not sure Sammy would agree with you, but uh…" Dean shrugged, "Angel and I pretty much think like that too."

"Doesn't seem like your brother's much like us." Dean stared at him, startled, "I'm not saying he's wrong. Just different. But you and me? Your sister even? We were born to do this. It's in our blood."

With Sam…

Sam sat on his bed as he dialed a familiar number and listened to the line ring.

Ellen answered on the second ring, "Harvelle's Roadhouse."

"Hey, Ellen, uh, Sam Winchester."

"Sam." Happiness filled her voice, "It's good to hear from you. You three are okay, aren't you?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Got a question."

"Yeah, shoot."

"You ever run across a guy named Gordon Walker?"

"Yeah, I know Gordon."

"And?"

"Well, he's a real good hunter. Why are you asking, sweetie?"

"Well… We ran into him on a job and we're kinda working with him, I guess."

Ellen's voice turned grim, "Don't do that, Sam."

Sam's brows furrowed, "I- I thought you said he was a good hunter?"

"Yeah, and Hannibal Lecter's a good psychiatrist. Look, he is dangerous to everyone and everything around him. If he's working on a job you three just let him handle it and you move on."

"Ellen-"

"No, Sam? You- just listen to what I'm telling you, okay? And keep him away from your sister. He has a thing for using women as bait. You understand me?"

"Right, okay."

Sam swallowed the lump in his throat as he hung up , opting to tell Dean and Angel about his conversation when they got back from the bar. Leaving the room, he heads over to the vending machine and buys a soda before heading back to his room. He paused as if hearing something, and cautiously opened the door to look around. Once inside, he leaned against the door in relief. Suddenly a dark figure jumped him from behind. He knocked his first attacker down, then the second before the attacker raised up behind him and slammed a heavy telephone into the back of his head, knocking him out.