Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.

***Ember POV***

October 8, Evening

"Well I've had a day," Dean told Ember when she picked up the phone.

"Yeah?" Ember said, finishing up a television show.

"You'll never believe who finally popped in."

"Eh?" Ember said, paying attention to both Dean and the television.

"Cas!" Dean explained.

"No way!" Ember said, paying attention now.

"Yeah! And he popped up as soon as I prayed to him, too!"

"No way," Ember said again. "I've prayed to him at least once a week over the past year, and he hasn't even said hello!"

"Yeah, well, remember how he didn't used to be as much of dick as other angels? Well, apparently he's gone back to his roots over the last year."

"Uh, oh, what happened?"

"According to Cas, Heaven's in Civil War," Dean said, recounting the story. Apparently an angel called Balthazar had stolen the Staff of Moses, along with other weapons, from Heaven. He had sold one of them to a little boy in return for his soul. The boy had wanted to get even with some policemen who had wrongfully killed his older brother.

"What the hell are angels doing selling souls?" Ember asked Dean.

"Well, that's what I said," Dean answered. "Apparently souls are worth a lot. Maube they're like… I don't know, the gold dubloons of Heaven."

"That would make sense, I suppose," Ember said thoughtfully. "So what happened after that?" she asked.

"Well, that's the weird thing… so Cas said that the only way to know which angel had sold the Staff of Moses to the kid was to read some kind of brand on his soul. And it was really painful for the kid… it was like Cas was torturing him."

"And you just let it happen?" Ember said in surprise.

"No! I told them they couldn't torture a kid like that, but I was outvoted."

"Outvoted?"

"Yeah, Sam just stood there! He just asked if there would be any permanent damage!"

"That doesn't sound like Sam at all!" Ember said, worried.

"I know, right! I keep telling you, there's something really wrong with Sam. It's like he doesn't care about the things he used to care about."

"Well, everyone handles Hell differently I guess," Ember said. "There's something I never thought I'd say." She rolled her eyes, then realized that Dean couldn't see her. "Look, I know it's not exactly your strong suit, but have you tried talking to him about it?"

"Only the once, and he just said he didn't want to talk about it."

"Yeah, so did you, when you got back," Ember pointed out. "And I had to hear about it from Uriel, of all people."

"Fair point," Dean replied begrudgingly. "Yeah, I'll try."

They were silent for a second. "So did the kid get his soul back?" Ember asked.

"Yeah, we got it back for him in the end. There's more to the story, but before I forget, speaking of souls… Bobby's finally got a plan in motion to get his back."

"Yeah?" Ember asked. "It's about damn time."

"Yeah… how do you feel about going to Scotland next weekend?" Dean asked. "Do you think you could get off for it?"

"What the hell is in Scotland?" Ember asked. "I mean, it's Bobby, so of course I'll make time for it, but… Scotland?"

"Crowley's gravesite, apparently."

Interesting, Ember thought. She wondered how many demons Bobby had had to kill to get that piece of information. "Yeah, okay. It'll be good to get some time away. Lucky it's on a weekend. Hey Dean, I gotta go… I've got a client on the other line," Ember said, groaning. "Can I call you back?"

"Yeah, sure. I love you."

"Love you too."

***Dean POV***

October 22

Dean was turning into a vampire.

He was fast. He was strong. He hated light. He could see the beginnings of fangs in his gums. And he was thirsty, and he knew it wasn't for food.

Normally he would've asked Sam to kill him. Or sought comfort with Sam. Or even talked about it with Sam… but Sam wasn't Sam anymore. Sam had stood there, and watched as he had been bitten. He didn't know why, but he was sure that it had happened. The look on Sam's face as he had watched – calm, cool, collected, even curious – was forefront in Dean's mind at the moment.

Ember would know what to do. She had to know, regardless. She had to know that Sam was dangerous…

He stood over her bed, and at that moment it occurred to him that he was a vampire, watching the girl that he loved sleep – something he had called "rapey" only a few hours before.

Ember gasped awake, suddenly, and Dean marveled at how adorable she looked, her hair messed up from sleep, and her white nightgown falling off her curves. "Dean!" she said in surprise.

"Hey," he said.

She turned on a light, and he turned his head but then forced himself to look at it. He had come to say good-bye. It wouldn't do for her to know something was wrong. She would find out later, he was sure… but not now.

"Hey," she said. "I wasn't expecting you for a couple of days."

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I wanted to see you."

"What's up?" she said. "It's… it's 3AM, Dean." She scooted close to him.

He scooted farther away, choosing a seat on the edge of their bed. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Listen," he said. It was everything he could to not to reach for her, but he didn't trust himself to do so. God, this was so cliché it was making him want to throw up.

"What's going on?" she asked.

He could hear her heartbeat. "It doesn't matter. But I need you to know. Just… thanks. Okay? For everything. And… I love you."

"Dean?" Ember said, moving closer. "You're scaring me."

He moved farther away from her again. Her heartbeat was so fast. "Oh, God," he mumbled. "I'm Pattinson."

"What?" Ember said, and though Dean was turned away from her, he could hear that she was moving for her revolver. This was not going the way he had wanted.

"I've got to go," he said.

"What the hell, Dean?" Ember said sharply. "What got you? Werewolf? Vampire?" She had him at the end of her revolver, now, though they both knew it wouldn't do any good. Dean knew she normally would have gone invisible, but she still trusted him to be able to control herself.

"Believe me, I wish it was different," Dean said.

"We can figure this out," Ember said, panic in her voice. "Just tell me what's going on!"

"I can't bring this crap home to you," he said. This had gone all wrong… he had just wanted to tell her he loved her. And he needed to tell her about Sam…

"What are you talking about?" Ember asked. "What got you? Come on, Dean, what's going on, you're scaring me!"

He started again. "Ember, Sam… he's not right. He's… and I'm gonna die. Soon."

"Dean?" Ember said again, and she took another step closer to him.

In one swift motion he had her up against the wall. He could hear her heartbeat. He could smell her shampoo, so much better than he ever had before. And he was so hungry…

And then he felt fangs breaking through the skin, and he turned away from her abruptly. "I gotta go," he said.

In his effort to get himself away from her, he threw her aside, and she hit the wall again, knocking the back of her head on it and sliding down.

"Dean!" she called after, him, but he was already halfway out the door.

***Ember POV***

October 23, Early Morning

"Ember, I'm sorry."

"Dean, don't… don't worry about it. Christ, until an hour ago you were a vampire! Let's just… just go to sleep and talk about it in the morning."

"I'm sorry," Dean repeated.

"Dean, I can't have this conversation with you when the only thing separating you from Edward Cullen is a disgusting-looking homebrewed vampire cure potion and a damn shower."

"Ember, I know you're angry. Please, just… just let me have it."

Ember sighed. After Dean had left the previous night, she had managed to reach Sam, and caught up with Sam and Samuel on their mission to help cure Dean of his vampirism. The potion, an old recipe of Samuel's, required Dean to kill the vampire who had turned him, which he had done. It had been very bloody, and Ember, who had previously been anxious to join Dean on a hunt, felt that she had had enough of monster-hunting to last her at least a month or two. Dean and Ember had their own motel room for the night, and it should've been a happy occasion before Dean set off again in the morning. Ember was steaming mad, though, and apparently it showed. "Dean, I've never, never felt unsafe with you," Ember said finally. "I've seen you killing, I've seen you knifing, I've seen you massacring. But I've never felt unsafe with you until tonight, and you've never hurt me."

Dean hung his head. If she wasn't quite so angry with him, it would've been adorable.

"And I get it," she continued. "I get that you were a vamp, you know? But what I don't get, is why the hell you would come home? I get that you wanted to say goodbye, but you couldn't have called and given me a heads-up? I mean, come on! What…"

Ember shook her head, trying to collect herself. "I mean, it's bad enough…" But that sentence would only lead to bad things. It's bad enough that you can't come home more than once every month or so. It's bad enough you want to hunt, and I want to stay home and adopt.

"Look, Dean, what if I'd had a houseguest or something? What if I'd had a… I don't know, a roommate or something, someone you were less motivated to not eat?"

"Like a kid?" Dean asked accusatorily.

"Yes, like a kid!" Ember yelled at him.
"I'm sorry, okay?" Dean said. "I can only say it so many times. I fucked up. I fucked up, for real. I put you in danger, and I'm sorry. It'll never happen again."

Ember sighed. "I know, Dean, it's just… I worry about you, all the time. But I don't worry about you getting killed by a monster half as much as I worry about what you're not telling me. It's like when you wouldn't talk to me about hell, and when you tried to escape to go be Michael's vessel." Dean winced as Ember brought up these topics.

"It's like what Sam's doing now," Ember continued. "You're right, it's obvious he's not telling us something, but God forbid I'm actually able to get it out of him. Well, you do that too! I can't spend the rest of my life guessing what's going through your head, Dean. I'm pretty good at it by now, but it would help if you told me basic things… things like, 'By the way, I got turned into a vampire!"'

"I know," Dean said. He pulled her to him, and she allowed it. "The only thing I can do is promise that I'll never do it again."

"Thank you," Ember said after a long pause. She felt like she wanted to say more, but she couldn't think of anything that she hadn't already covered. He had already apologized several times, and she knew better than to metaphorically "drive in the knife" after Dean was already upset with himself. She kissed him. "I've missed sleeping next to you. Let's get some sleep."

But though they slept in the same bed for the first time in over a week, neither of them got much sleep.

***Ember POV***

October 29, Day

Ember felt lucky – she'd seen Dean three times that week after work. From Limestone, IL (where Dean had been turned into a vampire), Dean and Sam had moved on to Calumet City, IL, which were both within a 2 hour drive for Ember. If she (or Dean, at one point) drove the hour and half after work, they were able to see each other, stay the night, and drive back before work the following day.

Ember was still wary after the vampire incident, but aside from this one bad decision, Dean had seemed back to his normal self. Ember was even more scared about Sam, who was acting more and more abnormal by the day. Dean was convinced Sam had watched him get turned, and after spending time with Sam over the past month, Ember wouldn't put it past him. It was like… Ember contemplated. It was almost like Sam's emotions never seemed to reach his eyes anymore. "I used to have a really great friendship with him," Ember had told Dean the night before last. "But now it's like… like something's changed, since he's been in hell. If he's not asking me to join the two of you hunting, he's working on a case, or looking for another case. It's like…"

"He never slows down, and he's always calculating? Yeah. Tell me about it," said Dean.

"It's like what makes him human is… gone," Ember said.

Ember continued to contemplate the Sam situation as she pulled up to the motel Dean was staying at. Dean was outside in his car, but his reaction when he saw her was less than ideal. He looked almost… scared.

"Dean!" she said, smiling slightly.

"Ember, you should know before you come any closer-…" he began.

"I want to get married and have a child with you but you're never home," Ember said abruptly. Then, "Oh my God! Why the fuck did I say that?"

"I'm, um, under the effects of some sort of truth spell," Dean said.

"You couldn't have called and told me?" Ember asked him.

"It works over the phone, too," Dean said. "Bobby just told me he gets pedicures and that he's a huge fan of Tori Spelling. I'm scarred for life."

"Oh," Ember said, stunned and somewhat disgusted. She paused. "I'm not sure we can stay together because I really want a family, and you never stay home. And sometimes the decisions you make cause me to wonder if you would be a decent father anyway, because you're reckless and you don't think first."

Dean's face fell.

"I'm sorry, Dean, that came out harsher than I meant!" Ember explained. "I… haven't really been thinking about breaking up or anything." Then immediately. "That's a lie. I've thought about it a couple of times."

They stared at each other. Then Dean grinned. "So, um… since we're here anyway… have you ever cheated on me?"

"No!"

"Good." He grinned again. "See, this could've been a whole lot worse! I've got an idea. Why don't you hit the hotel room, and I'll stay out here. When I get this damn thing removed, I'll come back."

Ember smiled. "I love you, Dean. You need to stop pushing your anger down. You push it down, and you push it down, and you're freaking impulsive." Ember's eyes widened again. Suddenly she had an idea. "Hey, is there any chance you can call that girl at work I keep bitching about? Tell her… I don't know, tell her I'm really sick and I might not be at work tomorrow, and you're calling for me."

Dean grinned. "Yeah, just text me her number."

Ember's eyes widened. "Thanks! Oh my God, this conversation is so embarrassing, but thank you! I drink out of the carton sometimes when you're not looking."

"Ew!" Dean said as Ember disappeared into the motel room.

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

Two hours later, they were back in the motel room. Dean and Sam had successfully killed the goddess Veritas, and the truth spell had been broken.

"Ember… have you really thought about breaking up?"

Ember squirmed uncomfortably. "Only in the darkest moments," she said honestly. She took a deep breath. "I mean, the vampire thing was just a week ago. But… Dean, I have a feeling that truth spell not only makes you tell the truth, but makes you tell it in the harshest way possible."

"Yeah, it does," said Dean. "But… I want to know the truth, Ember." They smiled at each other despite the situation, as these had been the words that had invoked Veritas' spell.

Ember stood up from the bed, unable to stay sitting for this conversation. "The truth is, ever since you've started hunting again, I've wondered… what's going to be in our future."

Dean stood up too, and began to pace around the room. "Ember, I know you say I don't tell you things, and you're probably right, but I'm going to try. It's… it's like I was saying to the Goddess earlier. I told myself I wanted out, that I wanted you, and a family. And I wasn't lying. I do. But you were right, too… what I'm good at is killing things. I'd love to be a father. But… I don't know if I'm going to live past tomorrow. So if you want someone to stay home, and cook food, and raise children… Ember, I love you, but I'm not it."

Ember sighed. "I know that, Dean. But it's… it's more complicated than that. I mean, we've talked about… about having children. And I can't exactly have children either. Any child of mine would be adopted, and would have to be familiar with 'the life.'" (Here Ember made air quotes.) "And you know how it is," Ember continued. "Monsters orphan kids every day. It'll happen, eventually. There's a couple of kids at work that I think have had an encounter… they won't be too hard to find, once I'm a little older and ready for a kid. So it's not like I'm wanting an "apple pie" life either… that ship sailed for me when my powers kicked in when I was 15."

Ember sat down on the bed again, her speech almost completed. "It's just… I wonder how it's all going to fit together, is all."

Dean joined Ember on the bed. "Ember, there's no guarantees about this life, you know that. I may be dead tomorrow for all we know. And it may be better… are you sure you don't want something different? Something more… stable? I mean, I want you to be happy, and it doesn't seem like-…"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Dean. I'm a half-demon. I may not be able to throw angels against walls anymore, but my life is far from normal. I love you. And it would be practically impossible to have a relationship with someone who wasn't in 'the life.' Believe me, I've tried. So please, if you're going to try to make some kind of executive decision to end this relationship because you think I'd be better off with an apple pie life, save us both the misery. You hunting again has been an adjustment. We'll get over it."

Dean stared her in the eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Dean. We've been together for two years. We can handle some vampires and a truth goddess."

He smiled at her and pulled her closer, teasing the skin on her lower back under her shirt.

She kissed him for all she was worth, feeling the flat planes of his chest, hard and firm again now that he was back to hunting.

Make-up sex was always fun.