So this is it, you get the last chapter and the epilogue in one go tonight. Let me know what you think, the middle and end of this chapter are terrible cliches, but they worked with the way that the story went, believe me, when I started it, Eve and Dean were never meant to get together, it just happened that way. When I'm done let me know if you want the sequel, it's nearly finished now so I'm waiting eagerly for your replies

Chapter 7: Aftermath

Her head hurt, in fact, every part of her hurt. She opened her eyes and looked at the clock. 7.30 am, she had not slept nearly long enough. She closed her eyes and tried to will away the pain, tried to make everything hurt less, but she could not. Her body would not let her, her mind would not let her, this was her punishment for being so careless, for nearly killing Dean, putting him and Sam in danger. She let a tear slide down her cheek, not sure if it was because of the physical pain she was in or the mental pain. She prayed that she would black out from it, but nobody answered, she had to suffer.

A tentative knock on the door made her jump up. It was Dean, it had to be. She had made him weak and now she had to leave to protect him, she would have to face John's wrath alone. She went to the door and pulled it open. It was Dean and he did not look like he had slept. He pushed the door closed as he came into the room then pulled her to him and wrapped her in a hug.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," he whispered as he held her and she felt her walls crumble as his touch erased her physical pain. She let the gates open and she began to cry, allowing him to see her weakness for the first time. Dean knew that if Eve cried, it was serious and he held her tight, stroking her hair and murmuring to her, as he had with Sam when he was a child, raising Sam had been great practice. Eventually she stopped and he moved her back so that he could look at her. She looked away from him.

"I almost got you killed," she whispered.

"It wasn't your fault."

"I should have been paying more attention, I let myself get distracted, I let you get distracted," she moved out of his embrace. "I make you weak, Dean, I can't do that. I can't let them use me against you. This thing is so big that you don't need a distraction, not one that could get you killed and I will, eventually, I will get you killed and Sam with you. I can't let that happen." Terror gripped him, he knew what she was going to do.

"Eve, don't say that. We can sort this."

"No, Dean, don't you see that we can't? We always do this, we mess each other up, get into each other's heads, we can't function like we should when we're together. I love you, Dean and that's why I have to leave, I'm a danger to you and I can't let anything happen to you because of me. I just can't."

"Screw that!" He snapped. "Don't tell me that it's for my own good, because we both know that's a lie! I don't want you to leave, Eve, I never did. I want you to stay with me, forever. You don't make me weak, you make me stronger, you give me another reason to fight hard, fight harder, I can't let you walk away."

"You have to," she reached up and touched his cheek, looking into his eyes, hoping that he could see how much saying this was costing her. "If you die because of me, I'll never forgive myself, I won't be able to go on. I can't live without you, Dean, but I can't stay and put you in more danger. Please understand."

"I don't, Eve, I can't. If you can't live without me then stay. If you have any sort of feeling for me then stay. Don't run away again, please, I love you, Eve, don't leave me." She could see all of the hurt in his eyes, all of his pride had been pushed aside and he was begging her to stay with him. She desperately wanted to, but she could not, she could not put him in that kind of danger again. She had allowed her feelings to distract her from her job and she would not let it happen again. She tiptoed and kissed him, gently at first and then with a rising passion. She would take this with her, this one memory, pure and untainted.

She was leaving, he knew it even as he crushed her body against his. She was going to leave him because she thought that she was doing the right thing. He could not live without her, but he could survive on her memory. Survival was not living, but it would have to do, he would have to be content with it, though he knew that he never could be. When they came apart there were tears on her cheeks and he wiped them away with a thumb.

"You don't have..."

"Yes, I do, please don't make this any harder for me." She pleaded. Sorrow gave way to fury.

"Why run, Eve, why? You love me, I love you. You can't run because you're afraid that I might die because of you! We should just live this life, because, like it or not, it's the only one that we're gonna get! You can't run away because of what might happen!"

"I can and I will, I have to!" She turned away and opened the door. "Goodbye, Dean, give my best to Sam." He took the hint and stormed out of the door, slamming it closed behind him. Eve ran to the bed and collapsed in hysterical tears.

Three hours later she was gone.

When Dean came back into the room, Sam knew that his conversation with Eve had not gone well. Wisely he chose not to pry. He had been able to hear the shouting in his room but not make out the words.

"What the hell does she think she's doing?" Dean demanded finally.

"I'm sorry?"

"She's leaving!" Was the snapped reply. "Of all the stupid things to do! Of all the idiotic reasons...!"

"What reasons?"

"Because she loves me," he had not meant to say that and he stopped.

"I know, so she thinks that you'll get hurt because of her and she's leaving to stop it from happening." He thought it over for a moment then nodded. "I understand her point of view. If leaving Jess could have saved her, I would have done it in a heart beat, I loved her enough to leave her for her own good. It would have hurt, a lot, for both of us probably, but I still would have done it." Dean stared at his brother, startled by his honest confession. It had not occurred to him before that she must have been hurt as much by her own words as he was and he realised that her eyes had shown him what he in his anger refused to see. He sat on the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands.

"God, Sam, what am I gonna do?" He asked desperately, he wanted her with him so badly, he was hurting so much, more now than he ever had with Cassie. Cassie had told him that it would never work for them, she had made sure that he had no hope of a future with her, Eve had given him hope.

"Respect her wishes, Dean, let her leave. Give her time to think it over and decide to come back. Let her realise that whether she is with you or not, bad things may happen. She needs to realise that she has to take every day she can get with you. Wait for her." This was obviously not the advice that he had wanted to hear, but it was the best that Sam could give his brother.

They did not wait for her to go, they were gone within an hour, neither was sure if they would ever see her again.