Author's Note: I thought a lot about whether or not I should kill off the boyfriend here, and at first I had killed him off. But it didn't make sense for Ember's character and what I wanted for later in the story, and I felt like she would've been too damaged to have had a relationship with Dean for another few years if I had done things that way. Let me know what you think in reviews. I don't own Supernatural. I'm super excited that promotions for Season 13 have started, though.

***Dean POV***

February 17, Early morning

The brothers had thought it would be another month or so before they saw Ember again, but it was only about two weeks. It began when Castiel arrived in their motel room at 5:00 PM in late February. As usual, he didn't mince words. "Wake up. You're coming with me."

Neither brother was used to being awakened out of a dead sleep by the gruff angel, and so both reacted predictably, grabbing weapons from under their pillows and starting toward Castiel before recognition kicked in. "Cas, what the hell!" Dean screamed when he finally recognized the angel.

"You're coming with me," Castiel repeated, unfazed. He began to walk toward them with his hands outstretched toward their foreheads.

Dean backed up toward the wall. "Why?"

Castiel looked annoyed, but lowered his arms. "Because I'm not accustomed to dealing with crying women."

"What?"

"It's your woman. That girl you keep looking at when you think she's not looking. The one who won't have the sex with you. Ember. She killed some demons. She's very upset about it. She prayed to me. She asked me to kill her, but I have orders that she is best left alive. I am an angel of the Lord. I do not have training in hiding bodies and dealing with crying women. Are you coming, or not?"

Two minutes later, the two brothers and the angel arrived in the living room of Ember's apartment, across the country. While it had still been bright in their motel room in California, the sun in Indiana was just beginning to set outside of Ember's window. Ember herself was looking smaller and more frail than Dean had ever seen her before. She wore a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top, both of which were covered in blood. She held a large green throw around her, and her eyes were red and bloodshot. Still, she looked irritated. "Why did you have to go and bring back the freaking Winchesters?" she snapped at Castiel.

"They hide bodies," Castiel filled in, gesturing toward the corner, and Ember winced. In the corner were three bodies, all men. One had been shot, one had two separate stab wounds, and the other appeared simply unconscious. The two dead men had been sloppily covered with trash bags. Dean guessed that Ember refused to touch them, but couldn't look at them either.

Ember's words from a few months ago came back to Dean: "Normally if I have a boyfriend, the demons just stow away in him. It's easier, and demons are lazy. I can always tell, though."

"Who were they?" Dean asked.

Ember's eyes rose to him, and he saw several tears leak out. "A client of mine. He was… he was only 23. And… my client's care-taker. And… my boyfriend… he's the unconscious one. He woke back up after the fight was over, and saw the bodies, and started freaking out… I knocked him back out." She sighed. "I never should've dated him. We were just…" She trailed off. "I didn't even like him that much, really."

Something in Dean's chest soared, despite itself. Ember shook her head to clear it, missing Dean's sudden look of hopefulness. "Anyway, I hadn't told him yet, about me, and I didn't know what to do… thank God he was wearing the anti-possession charm I got him, or else…" She started to sniffle again.

Dean crossed the room in two strides and gathered up Ember, holding her close to his chest. It was odd, he thought: even after Anna, and their fight, and the siren, and despite the fact that he had never done this before, the movement felt completely natural. "I'm so sorry, Ember." He thought for a minute, then added, "I never should've let you go back home."

They stayed there like that for a minute, until Sam shifted awkwardly and began unfurling the trash bags and covering the bodies properly with them.

"What happened?" Dean asked.

Ember sniffled. "Carl was… he was my last client of the day, and then I headed home. There were two demons. They must've gotten my scent back then, and eventually tracked me back here. And Eric, my boyfriend, you know, he didn't know about… and he just opened the door! And the salt line… they just threw him aside…" Ember was sniffling into Deans shirt, and so her voice was muffled. Sam and Cas had both stopped to listen. "I mean, we hadn't been dating that long… what am I going to do? He's already seen the bodies…"

Dean held her tighter, allowing her to bury her face in his chest. He knew from experience that it would be better after the bodies were disposed of, so he asked, "What happened then?"

Ember sniffled again. "They both went after me, of course. And I can usually use my powers to fight them, off, and my invisibility to dodge them, even if there's more than one of them. But I couldn't handle these two at once. So I got the worker first with the revolver, and that held him off a bit while I could get out an exorcism. But the demon inside Carl was so powerful, more powerful than most. And I couldn't even get the exorcism out, because I had to fight him off, because he could see me… They've never been able to see me before! And then…" She hiccupped. "Just when I thought I was done for… they just left. Just like that, they were both gone, and Carl was dead…" And then Ember cried harder than ever.

Dean looked at Sam. "Just one more question… did anyone other than the two that died know that those two would be coming here today?"

Ember said some words, but it all came out as a muffled sob. After a wracking breath, she said, "No. They would've followed me from work. Their car is outside, it's a red Toyota. But… what am I going to do about Eric?"

Sam paused in his ministrations with the plastic bag to shoot Dean a meaningful look, and Dean nodded. "Sam and I will take care of everything," Dean said. "Cas, will you stay with her for one second? We need to coordinate."

Castiel nodded once, and went over to sit by Ember on the sofa. Dean gave Castiel a stern look, gesturing to Ember. Before Dean disappeared into the other room with Sam, he overheard the angel say, "If it is any comfort to you, your friends are most likely in heaven now."

"So, what's the plan?" Sam asked Dean. "Ask Cas to wipe the boyfriend's memories?"

"Obviously."

"What about the bodies?"

"Is there a lake nearby?" Dean asked. "What are our options?"

Sam shook his head. "This is different. If we dump them too close to here, someone will find the car, and then the bodies, and it'll lead to Ember. She was the last person to see them. We need to make the whole thing go away."

Dean thought for a moment. "South Dakota, then?"

Sam nodded. "Probably best. I'll take the Toyota and the two bodies up there, after we convince Cas to deal with the boyfriend."

"Cool. Call Bobby on the way and tell him we'll be joining you soon."

"Yup."

Dean refused to leave Ember's side that evening, even after Castiel had taken Eric and disappeared to wherever angels go, and Sam had taken the bodies in the Toyota and headed for South Dakota.

Ember's mother showed up about an hour later. "I know you have other places to be," Ember said quietly to Dean in a private moment. "I can't thank you enough for what you and Sam did for me. I didn't want to… I just didn't have the strength to do it myself. You can… you can go now. I know you have other things to do."

Dean searched her eyes. "Do you want me to leave?'

Without hesitation, Ember answered, "No." Then, hesitantly, she added, "I'm scared they might come back."

Ember's mother gave her a look of shock, and Ember averted her eyes. "Carl was my client, my responsibility. I won't risk this happening again, to anyone. Especially not to you, Mom. I'm going to quit my job and move in with Bobby. Maybe… maybe when you..." She looked at Dean with determination. "I mean, when we, get Lilith figured out, maybe then I can go back to…" But she had dissolved into tears again, and her mother pulled her close this time.

"I hate to say it, but she's right, Ms. Nelson," Dean said. "She's safest with Bobby and I. I'll stay with her until she can get her affairs sorted here, and then we'll head to South Dakota."

And so it was decided.

***Ember POV***

February 17, Evening

After Ember's mother left, she took a heavy sleeping pill and passed out. Despite Dean's promise to stay, she hadn't expected him to do so after the first night. His large, sleeping form in the chair next to her bed scared her half to death when she first awakened on the day after the incident, but she had to admit she was glad he was there. If he hadn't been there, she felt certain that her mother would've insisted on staying instead, and that, at the moment, was too dangerous. Those two demons were still out there, somewhere, not to mention others. Plus, she wasn't even sure if the more powerful one could be kept out with salt lines. He had been so strong…

Ember's mother had always been able to take care of herself. For as long as Ember could remember, her mother had kept up the salt lines, and there had always been devil traps under the rugs growing up. They had lived a demon-free life until Ember was 13, when things had gotten ugly for awhile.

By the time she was 16, however, Ember had learned to exorcise the demons, and her invisibility had helped her dodge the demons until she could do so. She hadn't had to make a kill since she was 15… until now.

Now, it felt like she was 14 all over again.

On the day after the incident, Ember called her work and explained the situation: her father in South Dakota was having health problems, and needed her immediately. Bobby would confirm from the proper area code on the other end if anybody had any questions. She would have to leave the job in 3 days. Nobody argued with dying fathers.

Over the next few days, Dean helped Ember pack her apartment along with her mother and her best friend Mike. He was kind to her mother, calling her "Mrs. Nelson" and "Ma'am." He chatted with Mike about guns and cars, and the two of them worked together in goofy attempts to make Ember smile. Each day she reminded him that he was free to go, and that surely he had other things to do.

"Do you want me to leave?" he would ask.

"No," she said honestly. Not until she was away from the people she loved.

Dean also went with her to say good-bye to all of her clients and to finish up last-minute paperwork. He never stayed in sight, but she felt sure he was always watching. It surprised her, then, when on the morning of the fourth day, he didn't meet her back at the apartment like he had promised. Perhaps he had had enough, she thought. She couldn't be good company; she'd been sulking for days, had barely smiled, and had made him sleep on the chair in her room (if he insisted) or the sofa in the living room (if she insisted). Perhaps this was best, she thought; she'd be at Bobby's by the end of the day anyway.

Instead, Dean showed up at the apartment twenty minutes later.

"You're covered in blood!" she exclaimed, ushering him in quickly.

"One of your demon friends from the other day found me," he said, shrugging off his jacket and wincing. "Did you know that guy with dreadlocks who was hanging out outside your work?"

"God, you're hurt!" Ember exclaimed, helping him out of his jacket, which was torn. The sleeve of his black flannel shirt was covered in dried blood. "No, I didn't know him… how did you know he was one of the demons from the other day?"

"Started taunting me about it," Dean answered.

"What happened?" Ember asked. "Did you…"

"Exorcised. Barely." Dean began removing his shirt, slowly.

Ember was reminded, briefly, of another time in the hot tub, and Dean's shirtless form glistening in the water. The sight of a large slash on his shoulder brought her quickly back to reality, however.

Dean caught her looking at the cut. "It's just a scratch, don't worry. Won't even need stitches, I don't think. Look, it's already clotting."

Ember helped Dean clean the wound, wrapping it with a clean cloth. "Are you ready to go?" he asked her when they were finished, and he gingerly put his shirt back on.

"Yeah… you're sure we shouldn't take you to a hospital?"

Dean laughed. "I've been way worse off than this and not gone to a hospital. Seriously, it's barely a flesh wound. Plus, we need to get gone, the sooner the better. I'm pretty sure that was the less powerful of the two demons you met the other day." Dean laughed. "Not the brightest bulb in the shed, either. Let's go, before the other one gets here."

Ember smiled wryly. Finally, she took one last look at her Indiana apartment and slid into her PT Cruiser, driving toward the South Dakota sun.

***Dean POV***

February 21, Late evening

"Glad you're back," Sam said while the two of them helped unload Ember's belongings late that evening. "I caught us a case."

"Yeah?"

"Looks like. Vampires again, I think. If we leave tonight, we can be in New Hampshire by the morning." He stopped. "Unless…" he looked at Ember, who was carrying in her bedding.

Dean shook his head. "It'd be too weird if I stayed. She's gotta do her thing. Bobby should keep her safe."

Ember hadn't cried since the day of the incident, and he'd even made her smile a few times. Best of all, he had a feeling that she no longer resented his presence, and even welcomed him again – as a protector, as a friend, and maybe more. He had thought she had eyed him when he'd taken his shirt off earlier to inspect his cut, but perhaps he'd been light-headed from the blood loss.

He also knew, however, that she wasn't the type to be constantly followed around and watched. She would need some independence in South Dakota, and Bobby could take care of himself enough that she wouldn't have to be worried about the demons she would attract. He had a feeling she was itching to stretch her legs and begin a life for herself.

Ember nodded in understanding when he told her the news. "Dean… you were really there for me, when I needed you most."

She looked up at him from under her lashes, and he felt his heart melting. She was moving closer. Was she going to kiss him? Should he move away?

"I mean… it's too early for me to think about..." She smiled shyly, and he knew immediately where she was going with this odd conversation. "If in a few weeks, if you still feel like being in a relationship… let me know, okay? The only thing I can guarantee is that it won't be as miserable for you as the last four days have been. I suppose it can only improve from here."

Dean fought down the surge of hope he felt in his heart, and the lurch from somewhere around his stomach. "I would like that," he said honestly, and it sounded deeper and huskier than he had expected.

"Thank you," Ember said. "Thank you so much, for everything over the past few days." And she kissed him on the cheek. She smelled like shampoo, and like everything he remembered longing for when he had been in Hell. And when, hours later, he was driving the Impala through the Midwest, he could still feel where her lips had burned.