They had split up to search for Serena and Tyler was getting more anxious by the minute. She knew that time was on their side – the people who took the Nymphs would take their time torturing – but she took no pleasure in that thought. She had half a mind to just walk into Linny's and demand answers, but she knew that would prove to be a fruitless effort. Not to mention a waste of time.

So she sucked in her breath and searched abandoned hovel after abandoned hovel, ignoring the nervous knotting of her stomach. Panic wouldn't help Serena in any way. And she knew that she needed all of her concentration to find her friend. Serena had been there for her whenever the strain of raising six kids proved too heavy. She'd taken some of the load off at times. Serena'd understood the pain and sorrow Tyler succumbed to silently without her having to say a word to the Nymph.

As much as she hated to admit it, Serena was her one and only best friend. Without her….Tyler didn't know what she'd do without her. I can't lose her. Not after - She shook her head violently and focused on her surroundings. Another abandoned warehouse that was really abandoned. This was taking far too long. She fought down her rising fear and turned to walk to her truck.

Sam and Dean had found each other again amidst the search for Serena as they both made their way to another old and dirty site. "Anything?" Sam asked. Dean shook his head. He could see the guilt his younger brother was fighting. Even though it wasn't his fault, he felt like he lost Serena on his watch. And Tyler's tirade – although fueled by fear and anxiety – had done nothing to help. She must have been really upset and Dean suspected it wasn't all because of Serena's capture.

The thought of potentially losing someone, after losing her siblings not too long ago, was screwing with her mind and her emotions. Dean knew what it was like to be both a sibling and a parent at the same time and how strong those bonds could be. While Sam had always rebelled against him, Tyler's family seemed to have welcomed that arrangement.

"I can't believe I just let her slip through my fingers," he heard Sam say. He looked up. "It wasn't your fault." He knew his brother wasn't convinced. "Let's just do this, okay, Sammy?" Sam nodded and they brandished their guns and walked forward quietly. The door was locked and Sam put his ear to it, to listen to any sounds from inside while Dean picked the lock. He didn't hear anything but couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He looked Dean in the eye and signaled he was ready to go. They slipped into the warehouse.

It was silent but for the sound of water dripping. The two brothers moved swiftly and quietly, covering as much ground as they could without throwing caution in the wind. A sob came from their right and they swirled around. But there was no one there but Serena. She was covered in bruises, but luckily they didn't see any wounds or blood, besides the blood that was trickling out of a minor head wound. They rushed to her.

She fought them a while, before they'd finally gotten her to recognize them as friends. "Serena, it's us. Calm down. We're going to get you out of here," Sam said as Dean picked the locks of the chains she was bound with. When the chains dropped away, Sam cradled her to carry her away and the Nymph threw her arms around him, crying. They quickly moved out, Dean in the front, his sawed-off reacting to every sound – real or imagined. They hadn't seen anyone else when they went in and saw no one when they went out. Whoever did this to Serena was long gone.

Tyler was sitting in her truck, watching Linny's close. The owner waved his customers – or fellow hunters – goodbye and went inside. He was a handsome man, with brown locks and brown eyes. He was built like a high school jock even though he was obviously a lot older than a high school kid. He could've been a model and she found herself wondering why he'd become a hunter. Her eyes narrowed. It didn't matter. If what Dean had told her this morning was true, he didn't deserve her considerations.

Her phone vibrated and she checked the caller ID. Dean. She picked up. "Did you find her?"

"Yeah. We got her."

"She alright?"

"Badly beaten and bruised. No internal injuries, I think."

"Good."

"Tyler?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are you, right now?"

She stopped herself from telling the truth. The concern in Dean's voice was evident.

"On the road. I was going to visit another warehouse. So…who did this to her?"

A long pause.

"Dean? You still there?"

"It was the guy from Linny's. With another couple of hunters. But according to Serena, those guys weren't really into it. Sam guesses they were afraid of him."

"What does he look like?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"So I can punch his lights out if I ever see him on the street." It wasn't a complete lie, she told herself.

"Brown hair, brown eyes. Apparently he's quite good looking."

"You don't say…Well, I'm on my way back, so please take care of her for me. I care about her a lot."

"Will do. And Tyler?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever you think of doing, don't."

With that warning resounding in her mind, she broke off the call and threw her phone on the passenger's seat. For a moment she contemplated leaving and driving back, like she said she'd do. But rage had taken hold of her and she got out of the car.

The sound of the door opening and her entering the bar made the guy turn. "We're closed," he said with a nod to his sign. She would have believed that he wanted her gone, if his eyes hadn't wandered all over her body. "You the owner?" His eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I'm Cal. Who are you?" Tyler smiled and watched contently as he smiled back, his eyes sparkling.

"I'm a hunter." He was taken aback by that remark and was on his guard immediately. "I heard you and some of my friends had a little fun the other day and I was hoping to join in." He frowned. "Why? What have you got against supernatural creatures?" Tyler grabbed one of the pool cues and began to prepare for a new game. As she bent over to reach for some of the balls, she made sure her shirt lifted a bit, showing him a bit of skin.

He was interested, she could tell. "What's not to hate about those foul creatures? They're abominations, monsters. They should all be exterminated." She watched him grab another pool cue. Way to condemn not just some of your friends, but part of yourself too. The disgust on her face was real, though she was thinking of him and not Serena. But Cal didn't know that. He grinned. "I might be inclined to let you join. It's all good fun." Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah. We just caught a fine piece of tail this morning." Tyler fought to control her rage and showed nothing but interest. Cal puffed himself up as he continued: "A water Nymph. She struggled a bit, but these fists quickly beat her into submission." Tyler faked a laugh. "No doubt she deserved it." Cal was enjoying the game – both the pool and the reeling in of what he thought was a willing hunter.

"She will get what she deserves. A fine ass like that…I can't let that go to waste." He checked her out as she leaned in to shoot. Some of the repulsion Tyler was feeling was obviously leaking from her face. "What? You got a problem with that?" he asked. Tyler repositioned herself a bit and replied: "Yeah, I've got a problem with that." Before he knew what happened, she shot the white ball. Right into his face.

He went down. As he scrambled to get up, she beat him down with her pool cue. Cal tried to get up again. But Tyler wouldn't let him. Now it was time for her to beat him into submission. Between blows she spoke. "She. Was. My. Friend." When she finally stood, Cal was sprawled on the floor, trying to shield himself from the blows. Tyler stood on his one remaining good hand and heard the breaking of bones before she squatted.

"Now. I'm going to leave you with a reminder," she said as she took out her knife. The fear in Cal's eyes didn't move her one bit. "I won't do it again. Please." But all Tyler felt was apathy. "If I ever so much as see you again, I will kill you. Understand?" He nodded swiftly. She leaned into him, bringing her face close to him. The stench of fear filled her nostrils. She looked him in the eye and smiled her most innocent smile. When that smile turned into a devilish grin, Cal lost control of his bladder.

"Such a pretty face," she cooed as she caressed his face with her knife. "I can't let that go to waste." With those words she jammed her knife into his left eye and twisted hard. His scream, haunting and filled with pain though it was, didn't so much as rattle her. She calmly continued to cut out his eye and as he passed out, she ripped it out its socket and flung it to the floor. Dispassionately, she stepped on it on her way out. She left him there, in a puddle of his blood and urine.

Sam and Dean were pacing the room, waiting for Tyler to come back. When Dean had told Serena of his suspicion that Tyler was going after the owner of Linny's, two expressions flitted across Serena's face, before she regained her composure. One of the two was worry. The other one, he wasn't too sure about. Serena was sitting near the window, staring outside. He had a bad feeling about this.

Sam was watching Serena when she suddenly stirred. "She's back. Seems like she had some trouble. Both Winchesters ran for the window. Tyler was pushing her truck forward, covered in dirt and mud. Car trouble? She saw them looking and waited for them to open the door. "Gonna just stand there and watch me?" she asked. Sam hurried to help her push the truck into the parking lot. "What happened?"

"Damn engine suddenly stopped, that's what happened. And my cell's battery died." Tyler said as they walked inside. "How inconvenient," Serena said. The women stood across each other, arms crossed. Tyler's face softened and she spread her arms. Serena rushed in to hug her. For a moment there was a silence. Then Serena spoke. "Sam said you were going out of your mind with worry." Tyler gently punched her shoulder. "You wish." Serena looked her in the eye. What did you do? She could read that question clearly enough. It's been taken care of.

For a moment there she thought Serena had actually caught the meaning of that look, but the Nymph turned away too quickly for her to be sure. "Let's just go get some shut-eye," Serena said. The boys were quick to agree, though Tyler noticed Dean glancing her way. But she wasn't going to talk.

The next morning they said goodbye to Serena, who had some of her nearby Nymph friends to pick her up. She hugged all of them and took Tyler by the hand, leading her away. "What?" Tyler asked. Serena looked deep in her eyes. "You're not going to kiss me, are you?" Tyler said. Serena smiled and handed her a USB-stick. "I've been meaning to give you this for a long time." Tyler took it. "What is it?" "Something that'll make you happy. You should only watch it when you feel like you can't go on any more." Tyler frowned.

"And I'm also taking this," Serena showed Tyler her bottle of pills. Before Tyler could swipe them, she put them in her pocket. "You don't need these, Ty. Nor that watch." Tyler covered her watch with her hand before extending it. "Give me back my pills, 'Rena. You don't get to make that decision." "I'm making it for you. And if I could, I'd take the watch too. You know what to do to make the nightmares stop."

"And lose whatever innocence I have left? No thank you." Serena cocked her head. "Ty, we both know you lost whatever innocence you had yesterday." Before Tyler could protest, Serena held up her hand to silence her. "Look. I'm not mad at you. Whatever you did, he had it coming. But as long as you keep hanging on to this distorted image of yourself, the struggle is never going to be over. Accept who you are. What you are. It will make it easier."

Tyler snorted. "Easier? That's what you call it? Give me a break, Serena. You have no idea what it's like. You have no idea of the things I have had to face, to …do." "Maybe not. But I know it's eating you up inside. And that isn't healthy. Call him, Tyler. You know he would do almost anything for you." Tyler looked away. "I can't." "He's your family, Tyler." "I know that! I just can't. If I let him do it, I don't think I'll like what I see in the mirror."

Serena's eyes filled with tears and she hugged her friend fiercely. "If only you could see what I see. Then you wouldn't fear your own reflection." Tyler said nothing as the Nymph walked away, fiddling with her watch. Then she turned to walk back to the Winchesters.