On the side of the road…

Ellen's voice sounded shocked and hushed, "Gordon Walker was hunting Sam?

Angel stood outside the impala on her phone as the boys sat in the car, "Yeah, he almost killed all three of us because somebody over there can't keep their mouth shut, Ellen."

"And you honestly think that it was me? Or Ash? Or Jo? No way."

"I don't know, you tell me. Who else knows about Sam, huh?" She turned to look at the boys in the car, "One of you must have been talking to somebody."

"Hey, you can say a lot of things about us, but we are not disloyal. And we're not stupid. We haven't breathed a word of this."

"Okay, well Gordon said he had Roadhouse connections, Ellen."

"And this roadhouse is full of other hunters. They're all smart. They're good trackers. Each of them with their own patterns and connections. Look, hell, I could name twelve of them right now that are capable of putting this together." She sighed, "I am sorry about what happened, Angel, but I can't control these people. Or what they choose to believe."

Later on…

Dean drove down the road as Angel sat passenger. Sam was in the backseat on the phone.

"Hey, Ava, it's Sam. Again. Um, call me when you get this, just want to make sure you got home okay. Alright. Bye."

Angel turned to him, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I hope so…"

"Well…" Dean sighed, "Gordon should be reaching for the soap for the next few years at least."

"Yeah." Angel agreed as she turned back in her seat, "If they pin Scott Carey's murder on him and if he doesn't bust out."

There was a pause before Dean met Sam's eyes in the rearview, "Dude, you ever take off like that again…"

"What?" Sam smirked, "You guys'll kill me?"

Angel shook her head, "That is so not funny."

"Alright." Sam laughed and put his hands up when she turned to glare at him, "Alright. So, where to next, then?"

"One word." Sam grinned, "Amsterdam."

"Dean!"

"Come on, man, I hear the coffeeshops don't even serve coffee."

"I'm not just gonna ditch the job."

"Screw the job. Screw it." Dean shook his head, "I'm sick of the job anyway. I mean, we don't get paid, we don't get thanked. The only thing we get's bad luck."

"Well…" Angel grumbled, "He's not wrong."

"Come on, guys, you're hunters." Sam leaned forward, "I mean, it's what you were meant to do."

"Ah, I wasn't meant to do anything." Dean dismissed, "I don't believe in that destiny crap."

"You mean you don't believe in my destiny." Both of them quieted so he trekked on, "Look… I've tried running before. I mean, I ran all the way to California and look what happened. You guys can't run from this and you can't protect me."

Angel turned, fire in her eyes, "We can try, Sammy."

Sam nodded, his voice quiet, "Thanks for that." She nodded and turned back around, sharing a look with Dean, "Look, I'm gonna keep hunting. I mean, whatever is coming, I'm taking it head-on, so if you guys really want to watch my back, then I guess you're gonna have to stick around."

Dean met his eyes, "Bitch."

Sam scoffed with a laugh, "Jerk."

Angel smiled as she shook her head, "Idiots."

The three of them grinned but after a beat Sam frowned and picked up his phone again.

"You calling that Ava girl again?" Dean asked, "You sweet on her or something?"

"She's engaged, Dean."

"So? What's the point in saving the world if you can't get a little nookie once in a while, huh?"

Angel swatted his head, "Not from someone who's engaged you pig." She shook her head again but noticed Sam hung up with a scowl, "What is it?"

"Just a feeling… How far is it to Peoria?"

At Ava Wilson's house…

The three of them quietly broke in and entered with their flashlights in hand.

"Hello?" Sam called, "Is anybody home?"

They went into the bedroom to find Ava's fiance dead, face-up on the bed; his shirt and the sheets were soaked in blood. Dean ran his finger along the windowsill, staring at the powdery substance collected there.

"Hey." Angel and Sam turned and he held up his fingers, "Sulfur. Demon's been here."

Sam saw something on the floor and knelt to pick it up. It was Ava's engagement ring.

He whispered painfully, "Ava."