A/N:Kelly's POV. Takes place during the 12th chapter of Caught in the Crossfire where the boys take them shooting again. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: Kelly's POV: A Slow Burn

"I know a few things, but I still got a lot to learn
So I'm alright with a slow burn"
- Slow Burn by Kasey Musgraves

"We're going shooting again," Dean said. "Practice and all." He grinned at me as he spoke.

I raised an eyebrow in response, "now? All of us?" I slid a look at Chloe.

Sam was about to speak when Dean cut him off, "no, you two. We can split off again. Like before."

"Cool." Michelle sounded less than enthused and turned to Sam. "Same place?"

oOo

Dean waved at me to follow him, and we headed out to the Impala. Once I was sure we were out of earshot, I spoke up. "You know you actually have to teach me, right?"

"Of course." We branched off, Dean walking to the driver's side.

"You guys having your own place? We need to make sure you're able to defend yourself. If you can't I'm pretty sure your friend is going to have an aneurysm."

During the drive, Dean filled me in on the hunt they had been on while gone. In turn, I shared what I knew about our new arrival Chloe and her powers. I could tell he didn't trust her, hell she scared me, but she was a kid. A kid with no one else right now. I never considered myself maternal, but I felt protective of her like I would family. Maybe that was part of being a gatekeeper. I'd have to ask Michelle how she felt.

I didn't even realize we'd arrived at the same road as our last "shooting" lesson until Dean cut the engine. He turned to me.

"Have you ever shot a gun?"

"No. Canadian, remember?"

I smiled and he sighed. He climbed out of the car, and I followed, meeting at the front of the Impala. I was about to open my mouth to ask exactly what we'd be shooting at, but he cut me off with a kiss, pushing me back against the car. After a few moments, he lifted me without breaking the kiss and sat me on the hood. I wrapped my arms around him to pull him closer and I felt the handle of his gun in the back of his pants. I broke the kiss, grinning.

"So, can I play with your gun?"

He laughed, before stepping back and helping me slide off the hood.

"Shooting. Right."

oOo

There were empty bottles in the trunk which Dean set up along a line of rocks not far from where the road ended. He walked me through the different parts of the gun, focusing heavily on the safety aspects. He showed me proper stances, and shot a couple of rounds, hitting his targets easily. As he passed me the gun I was surprised at the weight, not just physically, but knowing this could be used to kill. I tried to copy the stance he had taken, but he adjusted my form, hands lingering. "Now line up the target, breathe, and squeeze the trigger."

I followed his instructions, but the recoil hit me harder than I was prepared for, knocking me back into his chest. He laughed and helped me back into form, adjusting my stance further to better account for the recoil. All the bottles were still intact, so clearly I was great at this. After a few more missed shots, I finally landed one close to a bottle and it gave me a boost of confidence. My next shot landed, smashing the bottle with a satisfying shatter. I lowered the gun and turned to face Dean with a huge smile on my face. He looked up, and I realized he'd been staring at my ass. "So, do you think Jane's training is paying off?"

He chuckled, "she may actually scare the crap out of me, but I can say I'm a fan of her results."

oOo

We ran through a few more clips, but my shots were still mostly missing their marks. Dean eventually swapped out his gun for something smaller, with less recoil, and I was able to hit a few of the targets consistently. I emptied the last clip on the gun I had, before lowering it to my side and turning to face Dean. He had been standing back with arms crossed watching, a playful look on his face, "feeling confident now?"

"As long as whatever I'm shooting at stands completely still, I might have a chance. That happens, right?"

He laughed at that, before bending down to pull a short-barreled shotgun from the bag at his feet, "want to try this?"

I eyed it skeptically, "pretty sure the recoil from that will land me on my ass. Hard."

He laughed again while approaching me, taking the smaller gun from my hands and replacing it with the shotgun. He showed me how to hold it, adjusting my arms and stance. "I'll hold on the first time, so you can get used to the recoil." His mouth was by my ear and his breath warm on my neck as his body pressed against mine. Despite holding a shotgun that would normally scare me, my mind was definitely elsewhere. Namely thinking of the back seat of the Impala. Dean moved my finger over the trigger, "squeeze".

I snapped back to attention and pulled on the trigger as he guided me. The recoil definitely would have sent me on my ass, but Dean kept me upright. I let go of the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "Woah." I looked at the bottles and a few were shattered from the shotgun pellets.

"She likes?"

Dean had moved back slightly and I was still holding the shotgun. I lowered it and turned. "That. Was. Awesome."

oOo

We continued practicing shooting for another hour, changing up the guns to see what worked best for me. Despite my new found love for the shotgun, we settled on the smaller gun as being the best for me to keep working with and keep on myself "just in case". Dean tossed the duffle of guns over his shoulder and led the way back to the car. I walked behind him enjoying the view quietly. As we reached the Impala I leaned against the passenger side while Dean loaded the guns back in the trunk. I was lost in thought staring at my hands, realizing a scar I'd had back in my old body was gone, when Dean leaned over me, hands on either side of my head against the car. He kissed me, moving his arm around my back to pull me closer. I halfheartedly returned the kiss, which he noticed, and pulled back. "You okay?"

"I'm missing a scar." I held up my unblemished hand. "I'd had it since I was a kid, being an idiot with my cousin. Sliced it open and bled like hell." My voice sounded small to me.

He held my hand and examined it, "Yeah. Makes sense. Same happened to me when Cas brought me back. Clean slate...sort of."

I stared intently at my hand, trying to will myself to see the scar. I felt my eyes start to well up. I couldn't look at Dean. I didn't want to break down. Not here. Not right now. I felt my breath pick up and the first teardrop escaped, sliding down my cheek.

"Hey…" Dean brushed the tear away but it was quickly replaced by more. "Hey, it's okay". He pulled me into a hug and a sob escaped my chest.

"It's gone." I wasn't referring to the scar anymore. I'd somehow boarded up my thoughts about my old world, but the missing scar broke down that barrier. I sobbed harder and collapsed into Dean.