A/N: Sorry this chapter's late, last month was really chaotic and I wasn't able to work on this. Hopefully that won't be happening again.


Chapter 13

It was barely dawn when the sound of distorted music broke the silence of the room. Sam groaned, burrowing deeper under the covers and closer to the warmth of Gabriel's body. He was jolted out of his sleep however, a second later the man's elbow connected with his ribs.

"Hmm?"

"Your phone." Gabriel grumbled, his voice rough with sleep.

Sam's eyes shot open at the realization his cell was blaring from the nightstand. The fog cleared instantly and Sam twisted his body to snatch the small device off the wooden surface. "Dean?" he demanded, panicked.

"I'm on my way to Michigan. If you still want in?"

Sam's heart skipped at the white flag his brother was seemingly waving. "Yeah, I want in. What is it?"

"Don't know yet, Garth called."

Sam looked over at Gabriel, feeling the man's eyes on him. "Where are you now?"

"At the all night diner twenty miles from town."

"I…I can be ready to go in an hour."

"Fine."

The line went dead before Sam could say anything else. He stared down at his phone as if it were an illusion.

"You're going?" Gabriel asked flatly.

Sam set his cell on the nightstand and threw back the covers. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because it's been a week and he hasn't once called." Gabriel pointed out, shifting up to sit against the headboard, watching Sam grabbing clothes from the dresser and closet.

"You know Dean. He doesn't deal well with change. – This is his peace offering."

"Right. God forbid he should pick up a phone and say, "hey bro, I know I was a jerk, I'm sorry.""

Sam looked over his shoulder at the older man. "I didn't." He reminded him.

Gabriel scoffed. "Don't remind me. - No one could ever deny you two are related that's for sure."

Sam carried his things over to the bed, dumping them before beginning to pack.

"Will you be back for thanksgiving?" Gabriel asked.

"Thanksgiving?" Sam frowned, looking up from his duffle.

"You know, national holiday. Pumpkin pie, turkey, cranberry sauce."

"I know what it is smartass. We should be done by Thursday I can't imagine a case taking more than a few days."

"Good, cause Claire's been looking forward to it all week." He said meaningfully.

Sam smiled reassuringly. "I'll be home for thanksgiving. I promise." He knelt across the bed to seal the promise with a kiss.

"You better be, Winchester."

"You know you're really not that threatening now you can't drop me in TV land or send Bigfoot after me." He smirked.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "Oh, believe me I can deliver a worse fate without the need of grace."

"Oh yeah?" Sam challenged.

"Yeah. It's called the spare room." raising his brow.

Sam chuckled, sitting to tie his boots. "I'll be sure to be home then."

With his boots on and his bag packed he grabbed his phone. "I'll leave the truck at the all-night diner."

"You want me to drive you?"

Sam shook his head. "Probably not a good idea."

"So you're just going to keep us apart forever?"

"No." Sam replied sharply. "Just until I can be sure he's not going to shoot you." He leant over the bed again pressing a hungry kiss to the man's thin lips. "Tell Claire I'll see her in a few days."

"Be careful." Gabriel said softly as Sam retreated.

"You too."

_What Doesn't Kill You_

Sam stepped into the small roadside diner and glanced around. He smiled as he caught sight of Dean sat in one of the booths nursing a mug of coffee and flirting with the pretty waitress. Taking a deep breath Sam headed towards him.

"I love kids." Dean was saying before trailing off at the first glimpse of his brother.

The waitress looked over at him and smiled. While her smile was bright it was clear to see the shadows beneath her tired eyes. "What can I get ya sweetheart?"

"Just coffee thanks." Sam replied sliding into the booth across from Dean.

The waitress poured the coffee and then wandered off, leaving the brothers alone for the first time in over a week. They sat in tense silence for a few minutes, Sam sipped at his coffee. Before too long though it became too much for the younger Winchester. "How have you been?"

Dean shrugged. "Fine. Garth's kept me busy. – You been hunting?"

Sam frowned. "No."

They fell silent again, both men focused on their coffees. Dean's eyes flickering over to the counter and the young waitress. Sam opened his mouth to speak but cut himself off. He hated it when they were like this, distant, cold. He'd hoped they'd never have to have this gulf again. "Maybe we should get going?" Sam said, uncomfortable with the silence.

"You in a rush to get this job done?"

Sam inhaled slowly, meeting his brother's gaze. "No. – I'm just don't want to sit here with you sending me death glares and making snide comments about my relationship."

"I haven't said a word about your…." Dean trailed off, unable to say the final words.

"If you don't want me here, why'd you call?"

"I never said I don't want you here." Dean replied sharply. "And you wanted back in, remember?"

"I was never out Dean. You demanded I make a choice and I refused to do that."

Dean got up angrily, dropping ten dollars on the table then walked away.

Sam grumbled under his breath as he slid out of the booth and rushed after his brother. "Dean?"

"Can we just do our job?" Dean demanded, yanking open the Impala door and sliding smoothly behind the wheel, waiting for Sam.

Sam quickly checked the truck, making sure it was locked then slipped into the passenger seat. Dean stared at the truck Sam had left in the parking lot. "Where'd you get that piece of junk?"

"It was abandoned along with the house."

Dean huffed dismissively, starting the engine. The Impala roared out onto the highway, neither man saying another word for over an hour. Sam stared out the window, the tension in the suddenly too small car suffocating.

When Sam couldn't take the silence anymore, he asked. "Have you heard from Cas?" He wasn't at all surprised to see the tick in his brother's jaw. He knew the answer by the sadness of Dean's face, the same sadness he'd seen when they'd thought Cas had died. He knew Gabriel wasn't just yanking his chain all those times he'd made a comment about the pair, but it was hard to really imagine, especially considering Dean's current stance concerning him and Gabriel.

"No." Dean replied flatly, his fingers tightening around the wheel.

Sam frowned over at him. "What about…Benny?"

Dean met his gaze with a hard blazing glare. "I don't think that's any of your business."

Sam inhaled sharply, it probably wasn't. He turned back to the highway, the slowly breaking daylight turning the dark sky a soft pink. "This is going to be fun." He grumbled under his breath.

_What Doesn't Kill You_

"How are things going?" Gabriel asked, his hands coated in flour as he prepared dinner.

"Well that depends on what you mean, the case or Dean?" Sam's voice echoed from the phone on the counter.

"Dean."

"About as well as you could expect, the tension is killing me. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Well you can always come home, let Dean deal with it."

"I can't do that Gabe. I have to see this through. – But if it doesn't improve this may be our last hunt."

Gabriel inhaled slowly. "What about the case?"

"Insane." Sam sighed. "It could almost be one of yours."

"Doubtful no one has my style." Gabriel snarked as he rolled the pastry over the pie tin.

Sam chuckled. "I don't know, this is pretty imaginative. Two dead LARPers. One ripped to pieces, according to witness statements, by horses. And another practically exploded."

"Whoa, gross. – Messy."

"Yeah. The only thing the guys having in common is the LARPing thing, so we're gonna head out on Saturday to talk to them."

Gabriel frowned down at the phone, as if Sam could see his face. "Saturday?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm not going to make it back for Thanksgiving."

Gabriel huffed, why was he even surprised?

"Hey, it's just a couple of days. I am coming back."

"Right."

"Gabriel."

"I get it okay. IT's just thanksgiving, it doesn't matter. They'll be others."

"Yeah, there will be but I know you're pissed, I can hear it in your voice. You wanted me to keep hunting, remember?"

"That was before."

"Before? Before what? Before Dean came back or before we started sleeping together?"

"Is that all we're doing? Sleeping together?" Gabriel groaned out. "Is this just sex to you? Am I just a convenience?"

"Gabe, you know that's not what I'm saying. Don't put words in my mouth." Sam snapped angrily.

Gabriel huffed, slamming around the kitchen as he shoved the pie in the oven and began to tidy up.

"Gabriel!" Sam snapped.

"I'm cooking. I'll call you later."

"Fine." Sam replied sharply, sighing as he quickly hung up.

The line went dead leaving Gabriel alone in the silent kitchen, not sure why he'd just bitten Sam's head off over something so pointless. So he wasn't coming home for thanksgiving, so he'd said they were 'sleeping together', that's what they were doing, what did he want the guy to say? That they were in love? He shook his head, which was ridiculous, it had only been a couple of weeks.

Gabriel froze. His eyes fixed on the overhead cabinet, his heart suddenly racing. He couldn't be, it was Sam Winchester. Sure he found him attractive, he enjoyed having sex with him, liked waking up with him, but that didn't mean….

"Dad?" Claire's voice pulled him from his suddenly topsy-turvy world.

Gabriel's head snapped around, his gaze unfocused. "Yeah?"

"Was that Sam?"

"Yeah." Gabriel breathed. "He won't be back for thanksgiving." He stated coolly, turning back to the food.

"Oh." Claire sighed sadly. "The case?"

Gabriel nodded, numbly moving around the kitchen, his head whirling with the revelation that he'd actually gone and fallen in love with the damn obnoxious Sasquatch.

_What Doesn't Kill You_

Sam walked toward the large tent they'd been directed to, all the while trying to ignore Dean's seemingly ever constant stare. Over the past week things between them had only gotten worse, and he knew it was his fault. He'd been snappish and argumentative. – More so than usual, he might add. Not that he didn't have reason to be off with his brother but….it wasn't really Dean he was pissed with, it was Gabriel.

He hadn't spoken to the ex-archangel since their fight four days ago. The thing was it was a ridiculous fight, Gabriel had completely overreacted. So he wasn't going to make it back in time for thanksgiving, was it really such a big deal? It wasn't like it was all that important to them. - He'd only ever really had two thanksgivings his whole life, and Gabriel must have seen so many it had lost all meaning, hell the guy had probably attended the first thanksgiving.

It wasn't helped by being unable to talk about what was bothering him. Every time he so much as mentioned Gabriel's name, Dean turned red and glared like he was trying to make his head explode, so Sam kept quiet. Which only added to the tension and discomfort of the trip.

He wished it didn't have to be like that, he really did, cause he could do with some advice, even from Dean. Instead he just had to bury his worries away and focus on the case, the sooner they had it done, the sooner he could get home and start figuring out what was going on.

"You okay?" Dean asked. He'd been asking that question at least once a day, though Sam doubted he actually wanted to know, especially if it meant talking about his relationship.

"Fine." Sam grunted, pausing behind the gathered crowd, watching as two figures faced off, slightly mesmerised by the skill of the combatants. Dean seemed to be equally taken by the fight as the pair mirrored each other's movements, rebuffing attacks. The two fighters equally matched. The air filled with heavy breathing and grunts as they battled for victory, which neither could achieve. Sam could almost believe he was witnessing two skilled warriors rather than two faceless figures who were probably accountants or computer programmers.

Finally one of the fighters got the upper hand, removing their helmet. Sam inhaled a surprised gasp at the sight of Charlie, her red hair flying in the breeze, her face glowing with exhilaration and delight. She turned to her opponent with a smile, holding out her hand as the figure removed her own helmet. "You fight well." Charlie praised brightly.

"Thank you, your highness." The girl said respectfully, her blond hair tightly tied back.

"I…"

"Claire!" Sam practically yelled.

Both girls turned to face the brothers, the pair's eyes wide and their faces paling.

"Oh blurk." Charlie murmured.

Sam marched through the crowd, heading directly for the blond as Charlie quickly excused herself and rushed into the tent. "What are you doing here?" Sam demanded angrily, staring down at the teenager.

Dean took the foam covered sword from Claire's hand, swinging it experimentally. "Nice balance."

"Dean!" Sam snapped, glaring at his brother as he played with the sword.

"Huh?"

Sam nodded towards the tent meaningfully.

"Right." Dean nodded, marching away to speak to Charlie.

Sam turned back to his teenage ward. "Well? I'm waiting."

Claire sighed. "Gabriel told me about the case, I looked into it and figured I'd come help."

Sam wasn't impressed. "Why? What makes you think you can help?"

"Because I know more about this place than you do." Claire countered. "A friend of Isaac's at school is into all this stuff."

Sam scanned the crowd.

"He's not with me, I came alone." She sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. "Besides I figured you'd never let me join a hunt if I asked, and it's always easier to apologize than ask permission."

"I can guess where you learnt that." Sam groaned, warily.

"And Dad's been like a bear with a sore head all week, I just needed to get away."

Sam swallowed thickly at the girls words, so he wasn't the only one suffering, horribly that made him feel better. Grabbing Claire's sleeve he quickly dragged her into the tent, just as Charlie hovered in the exit, her attention on Dean behind her.

"….Ed and Lance, there not missing, they're dead."

Charlie looked to Sam for confirmation and he nodded. "Holy Gandalf." She gasped, staggering back into the tent. "Are you sure?"

Dean nodded and Charlie stumbled to the round table, dropping heavily onto a chair. "It…how?"

"Drawn and quartered, bleeding out." Claire informed helpfully, ignoring the scolding look Sam shot her.

Charlie lifted her green gaze to the girl. "And you? You're with these two?"

Claire shrugged. "You could say that." She smiled.

Charlie shook her head, trying to dispel a headache that was slowly increasing. "So what do you think did it?"

Sam moved over to the table, reaching into his pocket for a photo as Dean spoke. "Well beside from this mark and them both being LARPers, there's really not much for us to go on."

"Wait, I've seen this, it's a Celtic magic symbol. Well it was in my favourite video game. Can I go now?" she began to rise only for Dean to push her back into her seat.

"It's a start but no."

"Listen, what can you tell us about Ed and Lance." Sam asked gently, taking a seat opposite Dean at the table.

"Good guys. Two of the best members in the Queen's ever shrinking army."

Dean frowned. "Ever shrinking?"

"My team has had a lot of bad luck lately. Probably because of me but…." She reached for the photo once more. "…maybe it's tied to this. – A month ago, one of my guys had both his ankles broken before battle, before that I had three people have hospital worthy accidents at home. Ya think there's any connection there?"

Sam shot Dean a brief look before returning his focus to Charlie. "Do they have any enemies in common?"

"In real life no, everyone gets along famously. In the game though, they have tons of enemies." Charlie got to her feet and led them over to the large map spread out on another table. "Red are the followers of the Moon, my peeps. Green for elves, blue for warriors of yester-year and black's for Shadow Orcs, total D'bags. This weekend's the battle of the Kingdoms, to see who'll wear the forever crown. This weekend each faction is definitely an enemy of me and mine."

"You know if you move your archers back and brought your swords men to the west you could…" Dean interrupted.

"Flank the warriors, good call." Charlie grinned.

Claire snorted a laugh, causing both Sam and Dean to glare at her. "Sorry." She held up her hands. "So someone from one of the Kingdom's got hold of real magic and has been using it to weaken your army?"

Charlie looked over at the teenager. "But why not just come after me? And why the escalation?" she asked looking between the three guests.

"Alright, we will canvas the Kingdoms." Dean interrupted. "You should get out of here, wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"No wait." Sam stopped her with a wave of his hand. "Charlie knows Moondor a lot better than we do, we need her."

"I think we can take care of a bunch of accountants with foam swords." Dean argued.

"I know stuff." Claire offered. "Stuart filled me in on everything." Sam glared frustratingly at her. "Sorry." She whispered, pressing her lips together guiltily.

"We need all the help we can get Dean, people are dying." Sam continued to argue.

"The point, which is usually yours, is that she should get somewhere safe and get back to a normal life." Dean snapped defensively.

"I am right here and I want to leave." Charlie butted in loudly.

"Thank you." Dean huffed triumphantly.

"But the Queen, she has to stay. Look Sam is right, people are dying and I can't have that on my watch. And you know what? I'm tired of running, I like my life here, I want to stay and fight for it." Charlie insisted looking between the boys.

Sam's phone began to ring in his pocket and his heart leapt into his throat, his eyes instantly finding Claire's as he yanked it free. He didn't recognised the number but that didn't mean anything. "Hello?" the voice on the other end was female and unfamiliar, certainly not the one he'd wanted to be hearing. His heart plummeted with disappointment. He listened as the woman spoke, hanging up only moments later having barely said a word, then turned back to Charlie and Dean. "So the toxicology report came back on Lance, nothing, but the medical examiner said his body showed clear signs that he was killed by belladonna."

"The porn star?" Dean and Charlie asked in unison.

Sam looked between them uncomfortably. "The poison."

"Oh." The pair nodded, not an ounce of shame or embarrassment on their faces.

"However they couldn't' find a trace of it in his system."

"Just like they couldn't find ropes in Ed's apartment." Dean added wearily.

"Charlie I'm gonna need to borrow your laptop." Sam pressed, ignoring his brother.

"There's no technology in Moondor." Charlie informed him matter-of-factly.

"There's a tech tent four tents down." Claire offered.

Sam sighed. "Okay. How 'bout you guys canvas and we'll…" he waved between him and Claire. "…will go check up on the accidence and the mark." He walked towards Claire, his eyes narrowing. "As soon as I call Gabriel and tell him you're here. You are so grounded when we get home." He growled, manhandling the teenager out of the tent.

_What Doesn't Kill You_

"Sam?"

"Do you know where Claire is?" Sam demanded as they stood outside the tech tent.

"Camping. I figured it'll be fine considering you weren't gonna be home." Gabriel replied harshly.

Sam rubbed at his face, inhaling slowly, clearly Gabriel was still pissed about that. "She's not camping." He murmured. "She's here. I'm looking at her right now."

"What!" Gabriel yelled so loud down the line Sam had to pull the cell from his ear with a wince. "Put her on, now!"

Claire shook her head pleadingly as Sam thrust the phone at her before turning and leaving her to Gabriel's wrath. He glanced back at her as he slipped into the tent to see her, rolling her eyes and grimacing, a guilty look in her blue gaze.

The tent was filled with computers, people in costumes here and there. Glancing at the screens it was clear they were all playing the same game, he dropped down next to an attractive blonde. Sam stared at the screen for a moment before turning to the woman. "Excuse me, uh, do you know if there's a directory of online gamers?"

The woman smiled warmly. "Yeah, it's on the website. All you need is an account to access it."

"Uh thanks….Uh?"

"Maria. – I mean Gholandria the Wicked." She flirted.

Sam flushed, turning back to the computer. He tried to ignore the woman beside him as he created an account and began to scan through the players, easily finding the gamers Charlie had told them about. His gaze flicked to the tent flap as he wondered if Claire was still talking to Gabriel. He couldn't wait to be through with this case and get home to try and fix things.

Maybe Dean was right, he thought suddenly, he was distracted by his personal life. Wasn't that what Dean said would happen? Clenching his teeth, Sam focused back on the case at hand, determined to prove Dean wrong. He could have both. He could.

_What Doesn't Kill You_

"So he found some normalcy with this guy and you're giving him shit because…?" Charlie challenged, watching Dean in the mirror.

"Because you can't have distraction, not in this life. He can't have that and this. It'll get him killed."

"So it has nothing to do with him playing house with another guy?" Charlie pressed, leaning back in her chair judgmentally.

Dean turned sharply away from the mirror, flustered. He swallowed thickly. "What? No. – I mean….you don't know Gabriel okay, he's a dick." Charlie snorted a laugh at Dean's poor choice of insult and Dean rolled his eyes. "He's a jerk." He corrected. "He spent years screwing with us… - I just can't see why Sam would….with him." He cringed visibly.

"Have you asked him?" Charlie quizzed.

Dean frowned with disgust. "I don't want to hear about it." He turned back to the mirror to fuss with his costume. "I just don't want him to get hurt….again." he sighed.

"Who says he will?"

"He will." Dean insisted. "They can't help themselves. You can't afford to get attached." He stared at his reflection thoughtfully. "You just gotta let go."

"Are we still talking about Sam or you?" Charlie frowned.

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"No." Dean dismissed.

Charlie stared at him for a long moment before getting to her feet. "Well, if you want my advice, unless you want to lose Sam forever, I suggest you deal with the fact your brother's bisexual, get a rainbow bumper sticker and file for your PFlag membership." She laughed, strolling out of the tent casually.

_What Doesn't Kill You_

Sam frowned at the screen, his attention focused on the reports. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gholandria looking over at his computer. "Uh…it's all just, uh, part of the game." He quickly reassured.

"Genre mash-up, cool. – Hey, I know her, that's Phillis, I heard she broke her ankles or something."

Sam pulled up the incident photos and cringed. "Wow, looks like she got…."

"Hobbled." Gholandria gasped. "Oh, and that's Jamie. He said someone broke in and beat him with his own mace, but…."

"No sign of forced entry." Sam concluded, pulling up the picture on the mark of Lance's arm. "Do you recognise this from moondor, it's…uh…Celtic?"

"No." Gholandria shook her head regretfully. "But I can look it up."

"How's it going?"

Sam startled as Claire dropped down next to him, her eyes scanning the screen.

"Where have you been?" Sam demanded, his fingers moving over the keyboard.

"Talking to dad, thanks to you." Claire huffed, slouching back into the chair, arms folded.

"What's he say?" Sam asked awkwardly.

Claire sighed. "Same as you, I'm grounded."

Sam nodded in agreement.

"So I just heard two more of the queen's warriors have been injured."

Sam turned to look at the teenager. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Claire replied grinning. The hard look Sam shot her had her sobering quickly. "Nothing life threatening. A broken arm and a serious concussion. – Don't know if it's connected to this or if it's just…you know, over zealousness. What have you found?"

"Mace attack, hobbling, medieval poisoning, somebody's targeting the Queens people, for sure."

"No, not only them." Gholandria interrupted. "Those four are with the queen, and these two are elves and these two are warriors. The only group not to get hit…"

"The shadow orcs." Claire interrupted sharply, her eyes burning into the other blonde.

Gholandria met her gaze for a moment then turned her attention back to Sam. "I found your mark." She smiled brightly, leaning back to show Sam her screen.

"The Tree of Pain. If you are tagged with this mark you will be a victim of fairy magic."

"Fairy magic can be bad?" Gholandria asked surprised.

"All magic can be bad." Claire replied sharply, continuing to glare at the stranger. "Depends on whose using it."

Sam cleared his throat. "Alright, well thank you very much Gholandria." He smiled, shaking her hand.

"Anytime. I've never done genre mash-up before, it was fun."

Claire grunted, stomping past Sam and Gholandria, knocking the woman's chair purposefully.

Sam sent Gholandria an apologetic look as he got up from his seat and followed the teenager. "First time for everything right?"

"First time for a lot of things if you wanna come by my tent later."

Sam swallowed, looked between Gholandria and Claire. "Uh….uh another time." He turned pushing Claire out of the tent.

"Another time?" Claire snapped angry and accusing.

"I was just…caught off guard." Sam argued defensively.

Claire stopped dead to glare up at him. "Have you and Gabriel broken up?" her voice shaking nervously around the words.

"What?" Sam frowned, surprised by the sudden question. "No. What makes you think that?"

"You didn't come home for thanksgiving." She pointed out like it should be obvious.

"I'm working." Sam quickly protested.

"One day. You couldn't have come home for one day?"

Sam's gut clenched at the hurt in her tone. He hadn't considered that, not even for a moment. "I uh…."

"And now Dad's being…it's just like…the first time you left, he's snapping at everyone or moping around. – Or going out with Rita and getting drunk."

Sam's jaw tightened as a spark of jealousy lit up his chest, was he just getting drunk or was he doing other things too? "We haven't broken up." He stated firmly. "I just…screwed up again." He sighed warily. "I'll fix it, I promise. As soon as this is done, I'll make it right."

Claire looked up at him with sad eyes before taking a breath and nodding. "Good, 'cause I've already lost two parents, I don't want to lose you guys as well."

Sam reached out for her, pulling her into a hug, his lips pressed to the top of her head. "You won't." he whispered, even though he knew he couldn't keep that promise. They both knew.

After a moment Claire stepped back, wiping her eyes. "So." She cleared her throat. "What now?"

"Now we find Dean and Charlie, then the Shadow Orcs." he turned hurriedly to head back to the Queen's tent.

"Are you and Dean….okay?" Claire asked after a few minutes of silence.

Sam looked down at her and shrugged. "I don't know."

"He doesn't like Gabriel does he?"

Sam shook his head almost apologetically.

"I guess I can understand why, I mean with everything he did but…he did save you guys, surely that has to count for something?"

"I...I'm not sure it's just the Gabriel thing." Sam mused. "I think Dean's having a problem because it's….because Gabe's a guy."

Claire frowned up at him. "Hmmm." She nodded thoughtfully. "I guess that makes sense, considering."

"Considering what?"

"You know, the him and Cas thing."

"They're not…"

Claire scoffed. "Right. – You're forgetting who you're talking to, I was Cas's vessel remember, I know what's going on in that guy's head and by extension, Dean's."

Sam paused, tugging on her sleeve. "Meaning?"

Claire looked up at him like he'd grown a second head. "He's freaking out, whole giant gay crisis, has been since he returned from Hell with Cas. Don't tell me you didn't know."

"Know?"

Claire laughed, shaking her head. "Come on, Sam, seriously?"

Sam stared at her for a long moment before shaking his head. "I don't want to talk about this." He brushed off.

"You guys are such freaks." She laughed, marching away, Sam quickly rushing after her.

They'd only walked a few feet when they caught sight of Dean and Charlie. "Hey!" Sam yelled, quickening his pace.

"Nice costume." Claire teased.

Dean met her soft blue gaze with a warm smile. "You love it." He grinned and Claire laughed, rolling her eyes.

"So anyway…" Sam continued. "While you were playing dress up, we found out that the mark…."

"Belongs to the Shadow Orcs." Dean grinned proudly, cutting his brother off.

"Yeah, and they're using fairy magic." Sam informed him, holding the print out towards his brother.

"The Tree of Pain, awesome." Dean huffed, shaking his head.

"Whoever gets marked, gets ganked." Claire put in calmingly, her focus drifting around them.

Dean looked at her with a small smirk. "Alright, so how do we stop them?"

"Find who cast the spell and take em out. No more whammy. No more mark, no more marks, no more dead bodies." Claire stated matter-of-factly.

"Alright perfect, our pal Bolter the Chatty is getting the Shadow Orc prisoner, we're going to do a prisoner exchange, draw the King out of hiding. It was my idea." He added looking smugly at Claire.

"Right." She scoffed, shaking her head. "So where's the Queen?"

Dean shot Sam a meaningful look but the smart ass comment was cut off by a sudden wave of concern. "I sent her to you." He frowned, looking between them.

Claire and Sam shook their heads. Grunting with frustration Dean marched off to Charlie's tent. "Charlie!" he yelled poking his head through the flap. "Your highness? Charlie!" but there was no sign of her. Turning Dean looked between Sam and Claire once again. "You know what she's got my phone, try it."

Instantly Sam called, the cell pressed to his ear as it rang. And rang. – And rang. He shook his head.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean growled furiously.

"I have the prisoner." Bolter announced, appearing out of nowhere.

"Great, let's go." Dean demanded, walking away.

"You stay here. "Sam ordered, pointing at Claire.

"No, I want to…"

"Stay!" he snapped firmly, his voice and gaze allowing for no argument, with a nod he rushed to join Dean.


A/N: I wasn't sure about having Claire run off and join the case to begin with, I actually considered cutting it all together, but now I think it came out really well. I also had to put in the conversation between Charlie and Dean to show why Dean was so reluctantly about Sam and Gabriel. I'm still not sure who Dean was actually talking about during that seen. (In the show, I mean) I'd like to think it was about Cas, but it was more likely Benny. Which kinda sucks yet is a little good because clearly Dean isn't 100% straight. His relationship with Benny is almost as obvious as his relationship with Cas. Maybe more so considering even my brother (the anti-slash-ship king) thinks something was going on between Benny and Dean.

Anyway, feedback would be most welcome and appreciated.

See you next month.