A/N Some cute things! Some not so cute things! And a weird in-between bitter-sweet thing in the middle...! Thank you to everyone who reviewed followed and favorited. Y'all are the bomb. com ...don't judge me. Anyway remember that everyone who reviews gets a sneak peek of the next chapter. Enjoy!

Ch. 13

The Lucky One

"Oh, it's okay...I'm just having a bad day... week... month... year...

life..." -Unknown

Dean refreshed the GPS tracking page for a third time but he was in bum-fuck-nowhere. No satellite device, no 4G, no wifi, and subsequently no updated location. He parked the Impala and got out at Avery's last known location to see if he could get any clues about what she did there before he set out to find civilization.

He walked up and down a mile length of the road before stopping. The whole bank by the road was covered in piles of leaves at least a foot deep except for one area. The leaves were strewn haphazardly like someone had run through them and slipped a little while doing so; causing the leaves to skate out into the open road.

Dean looked around for a moment before deciding to investigate.

If Avery had passed through there then something must have happened to make her do so.

But what? Why would she have needed to run into the forest? Maybe to pee?

Or maybe something spooked her. Dean thought darkly. His stomach turned and he followed the loud trail that Avery had left behind. If it even was Avery.

Dean stopped when he saw a dark lump that didn't match the rest of the forest floor jutting out into the twilight. He could smell the telltale metallic scent of blood in the wind and Dean clenched his jaw in outright refusal. It can't be her.

It only took a couple of more steps to dispel his panic. The body was much too large to be Avery's; not to mention it was distinctly masculine and completely unlike Avery's slender curves.

Dean examined the body. There was a stab wound to the chest and the shape of the wound matched that of an angel blade. The man also had scratch marks on his hands and arms.

Dean sat back on his heels and scrubbed his jaw. The only reason Avery would have used that blade is if her attacker—and with scratches like those on the man's hands, Dean was sure that he attacked her—was an angel or a demon. Dean was banking on demon since he knew that Abaddon had put a hit on Avery.

"Shit." Dean said. He wasn't the only one on Avery's tail and it looked like the wrong people were having better luck than he was. Dean wanted to cover Avery's tracks because he knew it was only a matter of time that the man was discovered but Dean also didn't want to get further behind Avery than he already was. There were demons on her tail and he needed to get to her before they did.

I managed to get to Indiana before I finally stopped at a roadside motel. I was exhausted to the very bone. I hadn't let myself sleep while I was with any of the truckers I hitched a ride with. Too many variables, too many close calls in too short a timeframe. I ignored the looks they gave me when they saw the bruises blossoming around my neck.

But when I got to that motel, God help me, I stopped and I crashed into that disgusting itchy bed. With salt on the windowsills and along the front door, I took my first breath of relief in almost two days.

Sam and Dean had no way of tracking me down now. I had used cash the entire way and since that last bus stop there were no camera feeds to lead them towards me. I dared to hope that I had finally shaken them off my tail.

With that thought I let sleep take me.

Dean stopped at a Super 8 motel just outside of Richmond and stared at the red dot on his phone display that had been blinking steadily just over the motel for the past couple of hours. She was here.

The relief at having found her so quickly was almost sickening in its ferocity. Dean had been so terrified that something had happened to her but now he knew that she was 50 feet away and perfectly safe.

Dean sat in the idling Impala for another couple of minutes. Why the hell hadn't he gotten out and found out which room she was in yet? Nothing was stopping him, or at least nothing physical. Dean still didn't know what the hell he was going to do when he saw her. Hell, he didn't know what she was going to do when he saw her. She'd definitely try to run and he'd have to stop her.

The very idea made him feel heavy. He didn't want that. He didn't want the very sight of him to make Avery want to bolt. Goddamit, he didn't want to be the bad guy anymore. But Dean knew that was all on him. No one made him act like a douchebag. No one made him act like the biggest asshole on earth. No one made him the bad guy. He did that all by himself.

Another couple of minutes passed.

Dean would kill for some Jim Beam right about now. Anything to take the edge off. Nothing like a little bit of liquid courage to help confront the girl who couldn't even be in the same room with him without wanting to run in the opposite direction.

Dean scoffed bitterly. Then again it wasn't just Avery who felt that way. It seemed like everyone was ready to leave him behind these days. Story of his—goddamn—life. Shit, if he hadn't gotten that angel in Sam then he would have gone right ahead and died. Just like that. No fight, no fuss, just dead. Dean didn't want to believe it when Ezekiel told him, but he knew it was true. And now Cas was gone too. Granted, he understood why Cas left, hell, Dean would've done the same in his shoes, but it still stung. Dean couldn't help but feel the rejection and abandonment even if only slightly.

Maybe that's why he couldn't get out of this car. He couldn't deal with people leaving him in the dirt anymore. Maybe that's why he drove Avery away in the first place. That way he knew it was his choice. She didn't leave because she wanted to. She left because he made her leave.

That's sure as shit why he kicked her out the first time. Dean didn't want to admit it to himself but he knew that was true. Dean saw Slater and then he saw red. Dean knew that it was a matter of time before she up and left with the guy so he saved himself the trouble and kicked her out first.

But now that Slater was gone and Dean was stuck with Avery—human nuke— he was in a fine mess. Dean had accomplished what he'd set out to do. Push Avery away. But the catch was, now he needed her to stay. And not just cuz she was a weapon of mass destruction. No, Dean knew better then that. He'd been so goddamn lonely and, Jesus, needy. Dean remembered how it felt to have Avery hold onto him like that. He had to feel a real live human need him back and shit, did that scare him. It felt disgusting, perverse. Dean knew that Avery would have never held him that way consciously. He knew it was a reflex of hers, he knew it the second he pulled away and she substituted him for a pillow.

He felt like he'd stolen that embrace from her, and it sickened him because she didn't even fucking know it.

"Stop being a pussy." Dean finally growled. A full half hour had passed and all he'd managed to accomplish was figure out just how pathetic he really was. Had he honestly just sat there and deconstructed how he felt over an accidental cuddle?

Dean shut off the engine and got out of the car. He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets to shield them from the brisk night air and made his way into the lobby where an oily teenage kid—Roy—sat flipping through a magazine.

His name tag boasted 'assistant manager' and Roy looked annoyed when Dean tapped his finger on the bell.

"How can I help you tonight, sir?" He said in a petulant and bored voice.

Dean cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm looking for someone. A girl, she has wavy blonde hair, grey eyes, about 5' 7?"

Dean saw a flicker of recognition cross Roy's face. "What's it to you?"

Dean wasn't in the mood to try and weasel the information out of this kid so he pulled out his fed badge and enjoyed watching the blood seep out of the guy's face. "You tell me where she is or I arrest you right now for obstruction of justice."

"Y-yes sir! Right away s-sir." The boy fumbled with the registry and hastily handed Dean a fresh key card to let him in to Avery's room.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Dean smiled stonily and stalked away.

Dean hesitated for a split second before pushing himself to open the door. The room was pitch black but the light from the overhead lamp seeped into the room and illuminated the salt line Dean had inadvertently broken.

"Good girl." Deans said to himself quietly. Dean felt his heart skip when he saw Avery passed out cold on the musty motel bed. She was lying on her stomach on top of one of the pillows. She hadn't even bothered getting under the sheets or changing into night clothes.

Dean didn't know what to do for a moment. He didn't want to wake her because, damn, she must have been exhausted to not have woken up at the door opening. Dean bit his lip and finally opted for the solitary wooden chair next to the small dining table before closing the door. Dean was a notoriously light sleeper so the second that she woke up, he would too.

Sunlight streamed through the window and I cursed at myself for not closing the heavy blackout curtains. My whole body ached from yesterday's excursions and my throat was sore and scratchy to boot.

I groaned and closed my eyes at the intruding sun before rolling over and sitting up. I braced myself for the rays of light that would no doubt burn my corneas to a crisp and I slowly opened them only to be welcomed to a sight so terrifying I almost screamed.

Dean.

He was sound asleep in the wooden chair across from my bed with his feet propped up against the table. It looked ridiculously uncomfortable and I couldn't fathom how he had managed to fall asleep like that in the first place. Which also begged the question:

Why?

Why had he snuck into my room and went to sleep instead of waking me up and dragging me back to the bunker? And how the hell did he even find me!

I didn't dare move a muscle. Dean couldn't sleep through the slightest of noises, he was too wound up all the time and his hunter instincts were always razor sharp.

I glanced around the room and almost cried when I couldn't find my duffel bag. The bastard had hidden it! Or he'd taken it and stowed it in the Impala. Either way I was screwed.

Everything I owned was in that freaking duffel and without it I would't make it very far.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

What was I going to do?

Dean stirred in his sleep. I slammed my eyes shut and gritted my teeth.

Please don't wake up. Pleas, please, please, don't wake up.

The sound of my heart beating in my chest was deafening. I could feel it throbbing and slamming against my ribs like a frightened animal trying to escape its cage. When nothing happened I opened my eyes again.

"Morning." Dean had opened one eye and was looking at me challengingly. My eyes darted towards the door and I tensed my entire body, ready to fly out of bed and run for it.

"Please don't." Dean sighed and sat up in his chair. I flinched when his feet hit the ground with two dull thumps. "I really don't want to have to chase you."

There was a tense moment in which we just stared at each other.

I sprang out of bed and sprinted to the door which I ripped open. But before I could run any further out into the street , two arms wrapped around my waist and dragged me back in. I started to scream in the hopes that a stranger would hear me and come to my aid but Dean's warm callused hand clamped down over my mouth and muffled me.

"Would you calm down!" He growled while I tried to kick out his legs. "Stop it!"

I let out another muffled protest and threw my head back to hit him in the face but he dodged it expertly.

"Could you just listen for one goddamn second? I'm not here to drag you back home!" Dean said.

I stopped struggling at that and turned to look at Dean as best I could to shoot him a surprised and skeptical look.

"If I let go," Dean asked, his green eyes hesitant, "Will you promise not to run so I can explain?"

I nodded timidly and Dean slowly released the vise he had around me. I pushed his hand away from my face and I backed away, surprised at how meek Dean looked.

"If you're not here to bring me back then why are you here?" I asked immediately.

"Well, I am here to bring you back," Dean scratched the back of his neck. "But not by force!" He added quickly when he saw my reaction.

I crossed my arms. "I'll save you the trouble. There is nothing you could say or do that would make me come back."

Dean huffed in frustration. "Why the hell not!"

"You know why!" I bit back indignantly.

Dean scoffed. "What because we disagree once in a while?"

I laughed in bitter disbelief. "It's far from once in a while and a little more than disagree, but yes, among other things."

Dean frowned. "What other things?"

I could feel myself deflate a little and my chest tightened. "I—I can't live like that, Dean. Like a prisoner. It's lonely and suffocating and maddening. It was driving me crazy and then to top it all off I had you verbally abusing me, making me feel like shit, every single second of every single day." I shook my head. "I can't live like that."

I bit my lip and looked away. "I won't."

Dean took a deep breath before sighing heavily.

"There's nothing you can say to make me go back to that." I repeated.

"You're not safe out here." Dean said firmly, quietly. He took a step forward like he was going to try and plead with me but when I instinctively took a step backwards he froze.

"Like hell I'm not." I could tell by Dean's face that he had caught me in my lie instantly.

"So you didn't kill that guy off I-70?"

I reared back like I'd been slapped and tears instantly sprang into my eyes. I remembered the man's voice as clear as if he were speaking to me right then and there, begging me to help him, save him. He'd had a wife and children who would never see him again. His entire life had ended in the five-seconds it took for me to stab him. After that moment I had sealed his fate.

"Was it a demon, one of Abbadon's hit men?" Dean pressed cautiously. "Did he do that to you?"

I knew that he meant the ugly purple bruises on my neck from when the demon tried to choke the life out of me. But it didn't matter that it had been a demon who did it. Because it wasn't just that demon. There had been a man trapped inside himself and unable to control his own limbs.

And I killed him.

Shame burned through me like molten iron, searing my every organ from the inside out. I killed that man. An innocent man. I nodded slowly but couldn't muster the courage to look Dean in the eye. The guilt was too much. I waited for the accusations to be hurled my way. I waited for the verbal punishment I deserved. I waited for Dean to say, 'I told you so' and insist that I return with him.

"I'm sorry."

My head snapped up in surprise and my shock grew two fold when I saw how genuine Dean looked.

"That shouldn't have happened to you," The back of Dean's knuckles brushed the purple bruises on my neck and my breath caught in my throat. "This shouldn't have happened."

I took a deep wavering breath. "I…he, the guy the demon was possessing…he—uh—he didn't die… right away." I said thickly.

Dean's face fell and I could tell by his features alone what he was thinking. Shit.

"I—uh—tried to stop the bleeding a-and do CPR but he—" My voice broke and I pushed past him when the tears started falling. The horror and disgust rose up into my chest and had a party with my self-loathing all while Dean watched. The shame of being weak mingling with everything else felt overwhelming to the point where I didn't even know what to do with myself.

I sucked in a quite breath through my teeth and tried to calm myself down but I could feel my whole body start to tremble. I pressed a fist to my heart which throbbed in my chest painfully.

"Hey," Dean said softly from behind me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off roughly.

"No, come on." Dean pulled me around and wrapped his arms around me. One arm around my waist and one hand cupping the back of my head. I wanted to fight him off but I couldn't bring myself to reject the comfort he was offering, the comfort I so desperately needed.

I gave in, wrapped my arms around his waist, and clutched his shirt like it was the only thing left grounding me. I wept quietly into his chest and he squeezed me tighter like it was the only thing he knew how to do.

I cried hard and fast, I gave myself one minute to give in and then I buttoned up. I pushed down everything I was feeling and pulled myself back together just as quickly. I pulled away and Dean let his arms drop instantly. A quick brush of my arm across my face to dry all evidence of my tears was all I needed to regain my composure. I glanced at Dean quickly and saw that he looked slightly pained.

"Sorry," I cleared my throat and stepped away.

Dean stared at me. "Come back."

I gave a frustrated sigh.

"No, you know I don't need to list all the reasons why you can't stay on your own." Dean argued.

"I'll be fine, Dean." I insisted.

"You're already not fine! You've been gone a day and look what happened." Dean said pointedly.

"Oh fuck you," I spat angrily, tears threatening to fall again. "You don't get to hold that over me."

Dean sighed and scrubbed his face. "I'm not. And I'm not trying to fight with you either. I'm tired of fighting."

I paused. "Yeah…me too."

We were both silent and stared at each other. Sometime during that silence we came to an agreement. No. More. Fighting. In one swift movement we stowed all of our crap and moved on. Started fresh. Dean sat down on the bed and I leaned against the wall.

"How'd you get out anyways?" Dean asked lightly, testing out this new dynamic.

"How'd you find me?" I returned.

"I asked first," Dean smirked stiffly.

I shuffled my feet and crossed my arms. "Ezekiel. I made a deal with him."

Dean's eyebrows furrowed and he looked distantly angry. And for the first time I knew that anger wasn't for me. "That's what I thought. What did you promise him?"

"Nope," I popped the 'p'. "Your turn."

Dean gave a short soft laugh, the tiniest hint of pride on his lips. He stood up from his place on the bed and pulled out my duffel bag from under it.

So that's where he'd hidden it.

In one fluid motion Dean unzipped my bag and started rummaging through it.

I sprang up indignantly. "Hey! Boundaries! You can't just go looking through my—"

Dean pulled out a cellphone I'd never seen before in my life and held it up triumphantly.

"I don't get it," I frowned in confusion. "What does a phone—oh!" The fucking GPS. "Son. Of. A. Bitch."

Dean smirked and I laughed slightly. I had to give it to him, it was a clever trick.

"More than just a pretty face, huh Winchester?" I snatched my bag from the bed in zipped it up.

"So you think I'm pretty?" Dean teased and I felt myself turn red.

"The prettiest of all the princesses in the land."

"You're hilarious." Dean said deadpan and it was my turn to smirk back, it was weak and haunted but Dean didn't point it out.

"I know."

"Don't think I forgot. It's your turn now." Dean said pointedly and I sighed. I didn't know how to break the news to Dean that Ezekiel wasn't actually Ezekiel. The reason he'd let me go was because I threatened to expose him.

"You have to promise not to freak out." I told him slowly and Dean frowned.

"Why would I freak out?" He asked anxiously.

"I mean it Dean." I warned. "You have a bad habit of shooting first and asking questions later and if you do that this time people could die."

Dean shot up and closed the distance between us angrily. "Avery," He growled. "What did you do?"

"It's not what I did," I spat at the accusation. "It's what you did. Now sit down and shut up."

Dean cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms instead.

I sighed again and looked down at my feet. "Ezekiel's real name is Gadreel."

There was a beat of silence and I looked back up at Dean who had a blank expression on his face. His jaw dropped open and then snapped closed before opening again. "Do you mean that—?"

"He lied." I finished for him. "Dean." I warned again softly as I saw his features morph.

It was my turn now to stop Dean from bolting out the door. "Dean listen to me!" I begged and tried to pull him back by his forearm. Goddamn, Dean was strong. He easily dragged my halfway across the room and I tried not to focus too hard on his bulging bicep underneath my fingers.

"Let go Avery!" He ground out and tried to shake me off him.

"No!" I realized that I would never be able to hold him back so I threw myself in front of the door and blocked it as well as I could with my body. "Dean, please."

"Get out of my way! There is a random angel inside of Sam who could up and leave any second and take Sam's meat suit with him!" Dean roared.

"I know! And if you rush into this then you're going to get people killed!" I yelled back and braced myself when I saw Dean move to push me out of the way.

But then…he stopped. He looked at me with sudden realization. "You knew the whole time." Dean said softly. "Holy shit," He ran his hands through his hair in disbelief, "you knew the whole time. That TV show that you watch…you knew the whole time and you didn't tell us."

Dean's anger returned in full force. "You didn't tell me."

"I can explain, Dean, but you have to listen to me." I said desperately. "I have a plan to fix this."

Dean's jaw clenched and his lips thinned as he tried to control his temper. Finally, he took me by the upper arm, roughly dragged me to the wooden chair he'd slept in the night before, and sat me down. "Talk."

I took a deep breath and started. "Gadreel is the angel who was supposed to guard the garden of eden from evil. But because of him, Lucifer got in and tempted humanity which led to the fall."

Dean's eyes widened at the implication and then self-loathing flooded into his face. He had allowed the angel who caused the fall of humanity into his brother.

"Heaven then threw him in prison and he's been there for all of eternity… until Metatron did the spell and cast all the angels out." I waited a beat for Dean to process the new information before continuing. "The real Ezekiel died in the fall but Gadreel had heard that he was well liked so that's why he chose him. And he answered your prayer because he bet that he would be safest with the Winchesters on his side."

Dean scrubbed his face in frustration and started pacing the room. "That son of a bitch." He cursed. "I trusted him! We fought together!" He stopped abruptly and turned to me. "Don't stop now. What else do you know about this?"

I bit my lip and prepared myself for Dean's next reaction. "In the show, you figure out that Gadreel isn't Ezekiel and you ask Kevin to help you find a spell to cast him out of Sam. What you didn't know is that Gadreel overheard you and that he had been meeting with Metatron."

"Oh fuck."

I nodded carefully. "Metatron makes a deal with him to restore his reputation in exchange for him to kill the people on his shit-list."

"So what?" Dean asked angrily. "This Gadreel dick kills me? Sam? Cas?"

"Kevin." I corrected softly.

"What? Why!" Dean asked, shame and horror seeping into his voice and making it rise an octave.

"Metatron wanted the tablets and he wanted to cut you guys off from someone who could read them. He also turns off a 'switch' in heaven so that no new prophets can be realized." I explained. Dean sat down again and dug the heels of his palms into his eyes. I waited for him to freak out again but he didn't. Instead he looked up from his hands and gave me a heavy look.

"So, you said you had a plan to fix this?"

"I do." I sighed in relief and sat down next to him.

Dean laughed weakly, despondently. "I'm all ears, Avery. What did you have in mind?"

I rested my hand gently on his shoulder and shook my head slightly. "You're not gonna like it."

P/n Dun Dun DUUUNNN! What do you think Avery's plan is? What did you think of all of Dean's angst? What did you think of Avery's angst? Leave a review and let me know! Remember: Review=Sneak Peek. And to answer your question: Yes, I will always review whore before and after the chapter.

Love always,

Lucy