a/n:Series of snippets from Kelly's POV that takes place during Chapters 17 and 18 of Caught in the Crossfire. Prior to, during and after the arrival of Eric.

Chapter 16: Kelly: A Test of Trust

"Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved."
– William Paul Young.

I was reaching the end of a double shift and feeling miserable when I heard a familiar voice behind me, "who's a guy got to know around here to get a hot coffee?"

I turned to find Dean sitting at the counter with a big smile plastered on his face.

He waved, "Hi."

I smiled back, "Hey. This is a very pleasant surprise." I reached over the counter taking his hand and squeezed it. In reality, I wanted to jump the counter, and him, but I alas, I was at work.

"Yeah, Sammy and I finished a job early. Figured I'd drop in, see if I can't help you win some brownie points with the boss."

"Boss isn't here, or you totally would." I looked around, and didn't see Sam, "where is Sam?"

"He dropped me here and headed back to your place. Figured he could help out back there. Besides, when I told him what you'd said about Michelle being on edge, he seemed antsy."

"That's cute. She'll appreciate the reinforcements. So, what can I get you?"

oOo

Dean stayed at the diner the rest of the shift. It worked in my favour when Greta showed up, and he won me brownie points, with Greta letting me leave with extra food for the crew back home. My first day on the job, she had asked me why I was in Aberdeen. I told her I was in town due to some family issues and had explained that I had a number of mouths to feed. She seemed to take pity on me and had been good with giving me extra shifts and even some old furniture on occasion. Greta stayed to chat with Dean while I cashed out and grabbed my bag.

As we got to the car, Dean pushed me back against it in a heartstopping kiss. He pulled back slightly, his voice low.

"You know we don't have to rush back to the house."

We had had even less time alone since moving to the new house than we had at Bobby's. As a result, I was still a virgin and we were both….frustrated. His offer was appealing, but the reality was I felt disgusting following a shift. I also couldn't shake my last conversation with Michelle about what this was with Dean. I realized I'd paused too long when Dean stepped back, "or we can head right back."

"Sorry," I grabbed his hand pulling him back closer, "trust me, time alone with you is something I want. How about tonight? We can go for a drive in the Impala? When I don't smell like grease and stale coffee?"

His shoulders relaxed and he quickly kissed my cheek, "you smell like bacon, and it's hot."

I laughed, passing him the keys, "you can drive. I know you hate my driving."

oOo

As we pulled up to the house, Jane came seemingly out of nowhere. She demanded I train and said she was off to find Michelle, not giving me any chance to argue. I shot an apologetic look at Dean, who shrugged and said he wanted to check something on our car. I wasn't surprised he'd find something. It definitely didn't run anywhere near as smooth as the Impala. After training, I took the first shower and appreciated whatever Michelle had done to get it working again. By the time I was done changing, I could hear Michelle had jumped in. I practically bounced down the stairs, feeling like a new person, when I nearly collided into Dean standing at the bottom, beers in hand.

"Hey, I was just going to come up and grab you. Figured we could escape the house for a bit?"

I listened to the conversations, and bickering, that was floating from the kitchen. The sun had set and Spike was up adding to the chaos.

"Absolutely."

Dean led me out to the Impala which was parked back from the house. We debated going for a drive, but I had a nagging feeling that we needed to stay close to the house that I couldn't shake. He looked disappointed but reluctantly agreed. We'd started making out outside the car, but when things started to get hot and heavy, we'd moved into the backseat. I was straddling Dean, my t-shirt off. I had just pulled his shirt off and he was reaching to unclip my bra when someone tapped at the window. Dean had me shoved behind him, gun trained on the person outside the before I even registered that the person there wasn't someone from the house.

"Who the fuck are you?"
I looked around, using Dean's body to cover me, to see a pale face with blond hair who looked amused at the sight in front of him. It was a face I recognized immediately.

"Well, hello there beautiful." Eric Northman waved to me, ignoring Dean.

I looked out the windshield to see Sam followed by Michelle running down the porch steps.

I spoke, trying to keep my voice calm. "Eric, step back from the car. Slowly. Please"

"Oh, you know me. That's good." He was distracted then, as Sam pulled a gun on him.

Eric backed up, hands in the air, but a face of amusement, "you do realize I could kill all of you before you pull that trigger boy."

As Eric backed up, Dean pulled on his shirt, chucking mine over. He kept his gun trained on Eric. I climbed out of the passenger side, opposite Eric, followed by Dean.

"You saw what he did. Jedi mind tricked Sam. Got Michelle hurt. We can't trust him!"

"He did it because he was protecting himself. If we ask him not to use it on us, he should listen!"
"Oh, if we ask the vampire nicely, he'll listen?" Dean said mockingly.

I threw my hands up in the air in frustration, "Fuck Dean. I don't know. But he's here, and he's powerful, and so far seems to be on our side in this. We could use him on our team."

Dean was pacing, but turned, pointing at me. "He was also looking at you like you'd be his next meal."

"Are you serious right now?"

"Deadly."

"Fine, he might have a soft spot for short blondes, but what, you think I'm about to throw myself at him?"

"You seem to have a hell of a lot of trust for him. Even more, than Michelle does."

"Wow. You better be fucking joking right now."

We were interrupted by Michelle knocking on the door. She stepped into the room and looked like she was expecting a bomb to go off.

It was sometime after 2 am by the time we'd settled everyone down. Spike and Eric were playing nicely enough and were sorting out their own spaces in the basement. Michelle, Chloe, Derek had all passed out. Jane and Gambit were somewhere in the woods. I found Sam alone in the kitchen, drinking a beer and reading.

"Hey, Sam."

He looked at me concerned. "Hey. Surprised you're still up."

"Couldn't sleep. I need to talk to Dean. Have you seen him?"

"Uh, yeah. He said he was going to sleep in the Impala. Something about too many vampires in the house."

"Great."

I sighed and flopped down in a chair at the table, putting my head in my hands. My headache from earlier had come back after the adrenaline of the night wore off. I heard Sam move around, and a beer slid across the table into my view.

"Thanks."

"You know he's just worried right? He just...he just doesn't always express it right."

"Worried is one thing, Sam. I don't think he trusts me. Not after Eric at least."

Sam shifted uncomfortably in his chair, watching me, "he'll come around on the vampires. He trusts you though. You should know that." He smiled, his voice soft. "Go talk to him, and bring a beer. It'll help."

I smiled back as I got up from the table and grabbed an extra beer from the fridge. As I passed back by Sam, I gave him a quick hug.

"Thank you. You should get some sleep too. Take my room, I'll crash in the living room with Michelle."

I headed out of the house and into the silence of the night. Country living was an adjustment, but the silence was still the most surprising to me. As I approached the Impala I could see Dean sitting up along the back seat, back against the door. I could faintly hear music from a cracked window. I approached on the opposite side, knocking on the window he was facing, so he could see who was approaching. The last thing I needed tonight was a gun pulled on me.

Dean pulled up his feet slightly, and I climbed in passing him the beer I'd brought. I copied his pose, my legs not taking up nearly as much of the seat as his. Once I was settled, I spoke.

"We need to talk about what happened tonight." He raised his eyebrows at me while taking a drink, but not speaking. I continued, "what you said to me earlier? What you assumed about me? Not okay. Never okay."

"He's a vampire, and a powerful one. He can't be trusted."

My voice was soft, my emotions spent. "That's not what I'm talking about. You don't trust me, and you implied I was just going to what, hook up with him because he was a little bit flirty?"

Dean picked at his beer label not looking at me, but I could see he was processing some thought. He rubbed a hand over his face, before breaking his silence.

"I trust you and what I said? I was scared okay? I don't trust that he won't try to pull something. That mind control stuff…. You're living in a house full of things that I normally would hunt."

I sat more upright at that, "They're not what you would normally hunt though." He started to open his mouth to protest, but I raised a hand stopping him. "They're different, and they seem to be fully on our side. The side that doesn't want to start an apocalypse. Yes, your job is hunting, but mine, here, is to protect them. If you can't handle that...you can't be here anymore."

I wasn't planning those last words, but it's what came out. I looked from Dean, down to the beer in my hands. The words hung between us, and each second of silence a growing block of anxiety in my stomach. I heard Dean shift, and my heart started to drop that he was going to leave the car. I felt tears welling up and kicked myself for getting this attached. I was surprised then when his hands found my face.

"I'm sorry. I trust you, and I want to be here. I'll...figure it out."

I felt a tear slide down my face, and pulled Dean into a hug, before pulling back to wipe my face. Dean watched me, before he leaned back against the door, pulling me to lay back against him. The music continued, and I placed my empty beer on the floor, turning into Dean. I closed my eyes, drifting off into peaceful sleep.