Disclaimer: Don't own anything you recognize. All errors are my own.

Feel Your Love Tonight

Dean stands in front of the French doors in the master bedroom, looking out over the backyard. The moon is full tonight, so he can see the small pond, the trees swaying the light breeze, even a few stars. It had been a long day trying to get the Kane's research organized enough that they could start actually reading through things. Sophia's notebook and earlier coordination had made it easier, but it was still an enormous amount of information.

He sighs softly. He can hear her in the bathroom, taking a shower, rattling through the medicine cabinet. He worries about how she's going to get through this. It's a lot to rake up again after so much time. Time she probably thought she'd been able to put it away, make it hurt less. And now they were going to dredge it all up. Make her remember everything. Make her re-explain it, re-live it.

He wouldn't admit if you asked him, but God knows he identifies with the situation. Every time he thought they'd figured something out or gotten past something, there was always another layer. Another reason he couldn't sleep at night. Another knot to untangle that may or may not get them closer to a conclusion. And having to relive his mother's death over and over and over as they dug deeper was obviously not a picnic.

She hasn't said as much, but he's gotten the impression that her original search was just as obsessive, if not more so, as his and Sam's had been. He knows from experience that it's a little like an addiction; starting down the path again might lead you right back to that dark place you were before. Plus, she'd been alone back then while at least the brothers had each other.

Sighing again, Dean chooses to ignore the obvious fact that he's hardly the expert in sharing his feelings, then or now, but is somehow expecting Sophia will be happy to let him support her. Things are different now. He's different. Being with her these last few months has made him different.

As he wonders how he can possibly protect her from all this, let alone the danger they're pretty clearly facing, he hears the bathroom door open and her steps on the carpet.

Sophia slips her arms around his waist, her cheek pressed to his bare back. "Nice view, isn't it?"

He turns, tightening one arm around her waist as the other tucks a stray hair behind her ear. "Very nice," he replies, letting his fingers slide along her jaw, then down over her neck and collarbone. He grins as he feels her shiver.

"I meant outside," she says a bit breathlessly. "The view outside," she repeats needlessly, but with a bit firmer tone this time.

"Oh right, outside. That's nice too." He doesn't take his eyes from hers as his hand slides from her collarbone to behind her neck, thumb rubbing slowly on the soft skin he finds there.

He feels her sigh and then relax against him. "Long day," he says, and she nods. "How are you doing?" he asks, waving a hand to indicate "with everything" before going back to stroking the back of her neck.

She shrugs, eyes dropping. "Fine. We got a lot done today; a lot sorted out so we can be more efficient tomorrow in reviewing everything." Her formal phrasing is not lost on him, but he's not interested in letting her push him away.

"Mmm hmm, more efficient," he says, his tone teasingly mocking. "But I didn't ask you how much we did today, I asked how you're doing."

This time he gets a shrug, but she leans more heavily against him, and her fingers tighten on his back. "I'm fine, I said."

Moving his fingers up into her hair, he massages her scalp, grinning again as she purrs and drops her head against his chest. "You know," he murmurs, kissing the top of her head, "you're not doing this alone this time." His hands move down, kneading her neck, her shoulders, the base of her spine. "Sam and I are here to help." He pauses, moving his efforts under her top, against her bare skin. "We can…"

Sophia stiffens against him, pulling away. "I said I was fine, Dean. It's fine." Her tone is stiff, a little cool, and she doesn't look at him, her gaze somewhere on his chest. "Let's treat this like any other case, okay?"

Dean doesn't let her move far, shifting his weight to move with her. He doesn't answer her, just goes back to kneading the tension from her body. After a long pause, he murmurs against her ear, "We're not done with this."

She looks up at him this time. Just shakes her head slightly before she reaches up, tangling her fingers in his hair to pull his mouth towards hers.

He doesn't resist her and captures her mouth in a slow, seeking kiss. His hands don't stop moving over the skin of her back as he drinks her in. If nothing else, he can give her this. Give her pleasure. Make her feel anything other than whatever this whole nightmare of a situation is making her feel.

Reaching up on tiptoe to get closer, she wraps her arms around his neck, pressing against him. There's a taste of desperation in her kiss. A wanting to escape.

Arms tightening around her, he lifts her slightly off the floor and carries her toward the bed, mouth never leaving hers. Gently, he pushes her back, settling her on the bed and then lowering himself on top of her. Her fingers dig into his shoulders, and she arches against him as he explores the heat of her mouth.

Shifting, he drops hot, quick kisses along her jaw, pausing to flick her earlobe with his tongue before making his way down her neck. He tries to hit every inch of skin, wind her up completely before she lets go. Her breathy moans encourage him, and he reaches for the bottom of her shirt, pulling it off and tossing it to the floor.

Her breasts. Her ribcage. Her stomach. All get attention from his warm tongue as he moves down her body. Sliding off her pajama shorts and panties, he slides back up over her, kissing from her toes all the way back to her mouth.

He's focused entirely on her. On every breath, every moan, every shift of her body beneath him. Her fingernails down his spine makes him shudder, and he nips at her lower lip. Her soft hum has him shifting to the side to strip the rest of his clothes off and dropping into the cradle of her hips.

Teasing her mouth with his, he murmurs, "Look at me."

When she opens her eyes, he meets her gaze and holds it as he joins them. Her gasp is caught by his mouth, and he starts to move with her. Their fingers tangle and he pushes her arms up over her head, arching her into him.

"Dean…" she moans, shifting restlessly beneath him. "More… please…"

Gliding his free hand down over her hip, he slides her thigh up, encouraging her leg around his waist. Rocking against her, he leans down to whisper in her ear. Hot, wicked things. How she makes him feel. Breathless encouragement as he feels her arch against him one last time as she slips over the edge.

He's not far behind her in finding his own release before collapsing atop her. Nuzzling her neck, he eventually shifts onto his side, tucking her in beside him.

As her breathing settles, she kisses his chest. Her hand sneaks up to rest over his heart. "I'm sorry," she whispers.

"Don't be." He kisses the top of her head. "Get some rest, sweetheart."

Pulling up the sheets over them, he holds her, stroking her hair gently, as he feels her breathing even out. He makes a silent promise to her still form; he's going to keep her whole and safe. Whatever's coming next.

~~SPN~~

The next morning finds them back in the library, deep in the papers, notes, newspaper clippings generated over what was apparently some nine months by the Kanes.

Sam had gone out and picked up a large corkboard and a whiteboard and both were now standing in the back of the room. The corkboard was covered with various pieces of papers, grouped in whatever categories Sam had come up with.

Sophia stands pensively in the doorway, watching the brothers work. She doesn't want to look at this again today. Doesn't want to go back down that path and remember who she was when she packed these things away the last time. She feels Dean's eyes on her, but doesn't look at him, instead announcing, "I'm going to start some laundry," before she turns and walks away without waiting for a response.

Gathering up her clothes and Dean's, she starts checking pockets and tossing things into the washer. It's mindless work, but she doesn't let hers wander today. Too many things she doesn't want to think about right now. Reaching into the front pocket on a pair of her jeans, she feels something hard. Frowning, she pulls it out and stares at it.

Sam and Dean both look up as she suddenly reappears in the library. "I found this in my jeans pocket," she says, tossing something on the coffee table in front of Sam. It makes a metallic clatter on the wood, spinning a bit before it comes to rest. "I completely forgot about it in all the… whatever… with the old man."

Sam picks it up, albeit a bit cautiously, as Dean joins them, leaning over the back of the sofa. "Another coin?"

"It looks different to me, though," she says with a frown. "Where's the other one?" Sam waves in the direction the desk, and she scrabbles through the papers and books to find it. Examining it closely, she moves back toward the brothers. "Yep, it's definitely not the same." Handing it to Sam for him to compare, she drops into the nearest armchair with a sigh. "But I'll be damned if I can see how it's helpful."

Sam flips the two coins back and forth. "They certainly seem related, anyway." He looks up at Sophia. "What did the old man say about it?"

She shakes her head. "He didn't get a chance. He was handing it to me when he got shot." She closes her eyes for a moment, going back to that moment in the warehouse. "I asked him what to do, how to find what killed my parents. He started to hand me that, and…" She shrugs, opening her eyes again.

"Let's send some pictures to Bobby, see if he can make anything of it," Dean says. "And see if he knows anyone around here who might know something."

Sophia sits up straighter, brightening at the thought of having something to do somewhere else. "Good idea! God knows we have a million universities around here. Surely someone would have some idea where these came from."

Sam nods and starts snapping pictures with his phone. "Sounds like a plan. I'll get these off to Bobby and we'll see what he comes up with."

~~SPN~~

"Well, have you found them yet?"

"Yeah, they went to Virginia. Somewhere outside Staunton."

"Damnit. Damnit, damnit, damnit."

"What? What's so special about Staunton?"

"She's gone home."

"So?"

"Home is where all the answers are."