"Tandy!" Dean urged, his voice rough and frantic, low and yet so blaringly loud. "C'mon, wakey, wakey!"

Tandy groaned and gripped a hold of it - of his gruff, dulcet tone - and used it as a guide to lead her back into the conscious realm. She'd grown so used to it, to the sound of his voice, that was, and it's many wavering levels. How it could go from light and playful to dangerously bitter in the span of a single heartbeat. Right now though, it was clearly panic-stricken and it was certainly more than enough to drag her out of her delirium.

Slowly, she cracked an eye open, coming to to the sounds of the bayou and of a broken man's desperate pleas.

"M'fine." She mumbled softly, having regained consciousness. Despite this though, her mind was in tatters, groggy, and if her rapid pulse was anything to go by then it was clear to her that the drug had not yet finished running its course, which, in a way, was a good sign. It meant that Sam and Ruby couldn't have gotten very far. Not that she was really in any sort of position to give chase at the moment.

Dean gripped her chin firmly and angled her head to the right, assessing her swollen lip, her bloodied nose and the needle mark in her neck. "Damn it, did Sam do this?!" He barked. "Who did this to you?! Was it that fucking demon?!"

"I said m'fine, Dean." Tandy pouted, rubbing at the chaffed skin on her wrists as she assessed their surroundings. They were still in the motel room, she noted, only she was no longer bound to the chair. She was now resting on the bed, laying, as the demon had, on her back with her face up, gazing up at the filthy ceiling. She suddenly felt the urge to throw up and it wasn't entirely due to the tumbling medley of drugs and alcohol that were coursing through her veins either. Laying where that thing had laid made her stomach roll.

"What happened to staying put?!" Dean asked, leaning over her. His face, albeit worried and angry but always impossibly beautiful, was a welcoming sight.

Tandy smirked. "Well, you know me, tiger, I wanna be where the action's at."

Dean rolled his eyes and hoisted her to her feet, but not before he stuffed her knife and gun into the plain duffel bag that he had hoisted over his shoulder.

Tandy wanted to argue but she found herself almost choking on vomit and her knees felt weak, ready to give out at any moment. Knowing that Dean wouldn't listen to her any way, she collapsed against him and allowed him to carry her towards the door. Jesus. What was it with these Winchester men and just flinging her around like she was a damned rag doll? She could take out a nest of vampires and barely break a sweat, for God's sakes! Why did they render her so completely useless ... so vulnerable. Ugh. There it was. That word. That feeling. Vulnerable.

"Lost Sam's signal, so I take it this was a trap?" Dean asked, pushing open the motel room door and leading Tandy towards the Impala.

Tandy nodded, then lifted her head to glance across the parking lot. "What 'bout my truck?" She asked, feeling a wave of nausea crash over her at the slight gesture.

"You're in no shape to drive, missy. We'll pick it up later." Dean responded, balancing Tandy upon the bonnet as he withdrew his keys. "I got there to find the room empty, save for you, bloody-nosed and strapped to a damn chair. Do you know how damn terrifying that was?"

Tandy shrugged. "'Bout as terrifyin' as a werewolf with a toothache on a full moon?"

Dean shook his head. "Are you okay? Seriously?" He asked, looking more than a little worried and maybe just the slightest bit adorable as well.

Tandy suppressed the budding smile that she felt rising to the surface of her lips and nodded. "Still feelin' hella woozy, but I'll be right." She admitted.

Dean pressed his lips together and cocked a single brow, unconvinced. He unlocked the Impala and wrapped his arm around her waist. He then guided her towards the passenger seat and gently lowered her onto the warm, black leather, alongside his duffel.

"Not exactly the way I played laying you out in my Baby would go, but I'm just glad you're okay." He grunted, offering her a cheeky grin.

Tandy chuckled then and clutched her stomach gingerly. "Ugh. I feel like'm gonna hurl."

"Okay, ouch." Dean murmured.

"No, not 'cause'a what you said, dummy, 'cause'a the damn drinks and the drugs." She moaned, tilting her head back to stare up at the roof of the Impala. "Let's just hurry. I'd hate to repaint this lovely interior in fries'n'whiskey."

"Oh." Dean responded. "Dually noted. Let's get you home then, get something to eat, rest, then figure out what the Hell we're going to do next."

"Sounds like a plan." Tandy mumbled as Dean gently closed the door and rounded the Impala.

"What time s'it any way?" She asked after he had settled himself into the drivers seat.

"Sun'll be up soon." He grunted, stuffing the keys into the ignition and bringing his baby to life.

Tandy nodded, thoughtful. "Y'know, funny thing is, the demon said somethin', somethin' that made me think she was in cahoots with Lilith. Almost sounded like it ... like it's her plan to die. To be killed by Sam. I don't know."

Dean was silent for a moment, digesting the information. "Where are they?" He asked at last.

"Don't know. Took off into the sunset together like Bonnie and freakin' Clyde." Tandy chuckled drily. "It was ... bad ... the way Sam looked so, I dunno, so in his element." She sighed and peered to her left. "Dean, you look guilty." She added, noting the sheepish look on his face, coupled with his unnatural quietness. "What is it that you ain't tellin' me?"

"It's nothing. It's just ... This demon, does it go by the name Ruby?" He muttered.

"Yes. How'd you know that? I don't remember tellin' you its name."

"Call it a hunch."

"Winchester."

"Okay, I'll admit," Dean began, "before my time was up, a demon was helping us, Sam and I that is, to stop Lilith. Her name was Ruby. I thought that Sam was done with her, well and truly, I mean, Lilith sent her away, I thought that that was the end of it but I guess she somehow found her way back and has been manipulating him. I just can't believe he didn't tell me, or how I could have been so blind not to notice." He finished, seemingly mad at himself.

Tandy released a long sigh and shrugged. "Yeah, well, 'pparently you have me to thank for that, so, you're welcome."

"What?" Dean asked.

"Exhibit A, distraction." She replied, gesturing meekly at herself.

"Tandy, you know that's not all you are to me - "

"Save it, baby, I don't need to hear it right now." Tandy cut in, effectively silencing whatever heart-stopping, puke-inducing compliment that he was about to throw her way. To be completely honest, she was still a little mad at him for tearing off without her earlier. Maybe she should have waited for him. Together, they might have stood a chance, but she had been mad herself, and rightly so. If he didn't want her at his back, why should she want him at hers?

Tandy released a small puff of air. It didn't matter any more. What's done was done. "Just gonna close my eyes for a bit." She mumbled. "I saw her car, so we can run her plates when we get home."

Dean glanced at her, his face lined with concern, but nodded nevertheless.

Heck, maybe she could forgive him. He had stayed back to help her after all, and from what he had just said, it seemed like he was now more than willing to team up.

Tandy smiled and closed her eyes.

This time, they wouldn't fail. This time, they'd find a way to bring Sam back onto their side, together, as a team, whatever the damage, whatever it took. They were in this hand-in-hand, until the bitter end ... however quickly it may arrive.


A steaming, hot shower featuring several generous handfuls of coconut and lime body lotion and five cups of coffee later - spiked with her mama's herbal remedy, o'course - Tandy was almost swaggering into the galley. She felt better'n a dead pig in the sunshine and, judging by the slight shift in Dean's demeanor, the sudden slackening of his jaw and the rapidly growing hunger in his gaze, she looked it too.

"You look ... refreshed." He commented, eyeing her for a fraction of a second longer than what would have been considered polite before he glanced back down at the disassembled gun in his hands.

"Feel it, too." She chirped, sliding into the seat opposite him, smelling, far more than she would have cared to admit, like an island paradise. "So, what have we got?"

"So far? Zip. Bobby is running the plates and your mama is with Tommy at the bar, asking locals if they've seen anyone matching Sam or Ruby's description."

Tandy nodded slowly. The bar. She sighed, guilty. She hadn't been able to work in days, not with all that was going on, but at least the Cajun chef exercised sympathy in that regard. Surprisingly, Henry was good like that. He could be a complete ass hat most of the time, and he'd probably demand her share of tips for the week as pay back, but she knew, deep down, that there would always be work for her if and when she needed it. That's just how folks treated each other here in the bayou, and she thought, momentarily, that if things were to work out between her and Dean, she'd have a hella hard time saying good bye to that.

Tandy shook her head and refocused her attention on the subject at hand. There was no point in worrying about trivial goodbye's, especially when their lives, and the lives of every human being on the entire planet, were still at stake. Bigger fish, she reminded herself.

"And Castiel?" She asked.

"Not answering." Dean responded, his tone husky and resentful.

Tandy ran her fingers down her arms and shrugged. "Y'know, I still have that callin' card up my sleeve?" She suggested casually.

Dean snapped his head up to look at her, his hands freezing mid-action. "Don't even joke about that." He scolded.

Tandy smirked, somewhat apologetic. "Right. Sorry." She could imagine the crooked smile playing beneath Baron Samedi's top-hat at that moment and wanted to blast it right off of his skeletal face.

"As soon as we get Sam back, that's the next thing on my list, don't you worry." Dean promised, placing the re-assembled gun back onto the coffee table.

"Well, with Dean Winchester in my corner, how could I?" Tandy breathed, playful.

Dean smirked, however, a thought seemed to enter his head at that moment and Tandy noticed that his eyes grew serious, somewhat nervous, even. "So, this probably isn't the best time, but I've been thinking." He muttered.

"Oh? Don't hurt yourself." She chuckled.

"Shut up." Dean quipped. "I'm not playing."

"Okay, Winchester, out with it then. You have that ultra intense, twitchy jaw thing goin' on, lay it on me." Tandy sighed.

"I do not have an ultra intense -" Dean shook his head and bit his tongue, attempting to speak again. "Look, I've been thinking about what it would be like if, I mean, if we even beat this thing ... after we get Sammy back, and if it would be okay with you of course, if ... well -"

"Dean, you're ramblin'."

"I know. I'm sorry. I've just never asked this before, to any one."

"Asked what?" Tandy probed, hesitant. Worry began to seep in at that moment and she tapped her foot against the weathered floorboards; a nervous gesture.

Dean took a deep breath then began again, his voice clear and unmuffled. "I wanted to ask you, once this is all done and dusted, and there are no more devil's and Dooms Day's and creepy, Haitian Gods, that, if you wanted to come with me - us - Sam and me, well, it'd be okay. More than okay, actually."

"Come with you?" Tandy breathed.

Dean shrugged. "Apocalypse's aside, I think there'll always be a big bad to take on, monsters to hunt, lives to save. The gig. And if you wanted to, I think it'd be nice if you, uh, joined us. Y'know. Became a part of the team. We could use you. You'd keep me and Sam from ripping each others throats out, at least." He chuckled.

"Right." Tandy responded slowly. Her foot had ceased it's rapid tapping and she leant back in her chair, releasing a shallow breath of air. His thoughts must have been echoing hers, but his request came sooner than she had expected, or was prepared for. "So, let me get this straight, you want me to just up and leave my mama and my whole life behind to come'n be a peace keeper 'tween you'n your brother?" She asked.

"Well, that and to uh, to you know, see where, see where this goes." Dean replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"This?" Tandy asked.

Dean nodded, hopeful, and Tandy felt her pulse quicken.

"So, there is a this, a you'n me?"

"Yes. Maybe. Hopefully. I don't know." Dean stammered. He then chuckled, awkward and met her gaze and shrugged. "If you'll have me?"

Tandy slid her tongue over her bottom teeth and smirked. "For the first time in my life, I'm sorely tempted by the offer, Dean, to run away with a boy, to take on somethin' that's bigger'n this, bigger'n me, to venture out, but ya have to understand, what y'are askin' for, it, its a lot. I'm goin' to need some time. To figure it all out. So, how 'bout we just toast this whole apocalypse thing then see what happens?" She explained.

Dean glanced down, shielding his face from view. "Yeah, okay, you're right." He uttered. "You're absolutely right."

When he glanced back up, his eyes were intense, focused and passionate. He almost seemed like himself again, the old Dean, full of fire and resolve and purpose. It made her shudder with both fear and excitement.

"So, let's kick it in the ass then!" He declared.

Tandy smirked and leant forward. She felt rejuvenated. Alive. "Let's kick it in the ass!" She echoed.