Dean gave Sam a nod and a sly smirk.

Sam frowned, knowing what his brother was thinking. "Bobby thinks he found a way to save her?"

"You looked well on your way to saving Church yourself, Sammy. But Bobby's idea might actually save her life. Now it might work, it might not. You know what a crapshoot these things can be."

Church looked at Dean, then Sam, then Dean again. "So what is this plan?" she asked.

"Well, uh…" Dean chuckled nervously. "That's the complicated part. We've got to wait until Ronove comes for you. Bobby says once that happens, there's another ritual and a spell besides the usual traps we can use to help weaken him enough to kill him or force him to let you keep your soul. It's something he found in a book he just finished translating."

"A ritual and a spell? That doesn't make sense, I've never heard of anything of the sort that would weaken a demon without exorcising it." Sam's mind was kicking into all his knowledge, searching for something that sounded even remotely familiar to this.

Dean shrugged. "Hey, don't ask me, this is Bobby's idea."

"So we use a spell to weaken him, and then what? Kill him with what?" Church asked Dean.

"Yeah, Bobby said something about that..." Dean chuckled a little awkwardly.

"What is it, Dean?" Sam wanted to know, needed to. If the knife wouldn't work, they still didn't have the Colt back, and his own powers might or might not able to help.

"This book mentions something about a weapon. Something we need to track down, Bobby's digging into that now."

"A weapon? So something like the Colt and the knife?" Sam's brain was in rapid fire, searching for something that might be similar.

"Something like that, it's a… no… damn it. I'm not sure what he said. He muttered it in Latin at me." Dean pondered it but couldn't come up with anything.

Sam's expression said that was typical. Dean's Latin had never been the greatest. "Guess I should call Bobby then, see what this plan of his and this weapon is, or if there's something we should be doing in the meantime." Sam looked at Church, "Unless you're going to call him?"

Church shook her head. "You can, I'm sure you will at least know what he's talking about. And I'm not going to get my hopes up right away when it's the eleventh hour attempt, I know that. But you can fill me in on the details of it later," she half smiled as she said it, letting Sam know that while she did want to hear the plan, she did want to be alone with him again.

"Sure," Sam agreed, able to read her look.

"Go call Bobby, Sam. I'll stay with her for now just in case."

"Yeah, I better." Sam put his hands over Church's, looked her in the eyes. "I'll talk to Bobby and we'll get this figured out. See if there's a good chance this will work." He gave her hands a light squeeze, smiled hopefully at her before he got up, grabbed the book and left the room.

Church watched as Sam left her room. The news of what could end up being a viable way to end this nightmare stuck with her. She didn't know if she could be saved, but it sure looked like Bobby and the Winchesters were going to try damn hard to help, even if they couldn't actually save her.

"Looks like we're alone, Chuch." Dean sat down beside her, his eyes cocked in curious gaze.

"So it appears."

"Can I ask you something?"

Church just kind of looked at him funny. "Would it stop you from asking it if I said you can't?"

Dean laughed. "No."

"You might as well ask it then."

"Do you really think Sam is more dangerous than me?" Dean broke the ice by asking a ridiculous question he already knew the answer to. There was no way Sammy was ever seen as being more dangerous than he was, not even when his brother was sending demons back to Hell with nothing more than his hands and a dark power from within.

Church laughed. It was hard for her not to at how Dean had just changed the atmosphere with an absurd question. "I'd say you're both dangerous on your own levels."

"I know he's brooding and sensitive, but being more dangerous and more of a bad boy? I can take him, and he always getting his ass kicked by chicks. That kid's always been on the geeky side, so there's no way in hell he's seen as a bad boy. Not like me." He gave her a cocky smile.

As much as there was an undeniable attraction between Church and Sam, Dean's charm was certainly hard to ignore. Matched with his good looks, the combination would be pretty much lethal to most women, but Church had heard all about the older Winchester brother and his ways from around. And while maybe in some other time, some other place she'd have found him hard to refuse, the demon in the diner had been right – it was Sam for her.

She laughed again. "I guess I'll just have to take your word for it then." She smiled at him, not at all believing he needed the confidence boost, but half providing him with it anyway.

"So… I think it might be best if you let Sam stay here with you tonight," he paused, "just in case Ronove comes for you. One of us should keep watch, and as much as I'd be willing to do it, from what I could see, I think you'd prefer my brother." Dean held back a chuckle and another smirk.

"Um, yeah." Church held back her own laughter. "That's probably a good idea."

Silence filled the room for a few minutes, neither of them sure what to say to each other.

Dean drummed a few fingers on his knee. "That was quite the story you told."

"Uh-huh."

"So Ronove, he's…" Dean let out a hard sigh. "A real piece of work. I've seen what he does."

"I've seen it too. Maybe not the same way you did, but I've seen what damage he's done, and I'm sorry, Dean," Church quietly said.

"That sonuvabitch is gonna be sorry. Sam and I will stop him, with Bobby's help, and yours of course. He'll be joining his brother, so there's no way he's going to get what he wants. We'll save you from that bastard, that's the job."

"Thank you." Church smiled at him lightly.

"Don't mention it, Church, well, actually…" A small cute smile formed on his face.

Church chuckled. "You know, Dean, if you get me out of this alive I've got a friend I think you should meet. You remind me of her a bit, and I have a feeling you'd like her. Maybe even get along a little too well actually."

Cocking his head, Dean's eyes lit up a bit. "Her? Now that'd be some thanks."

"Oh, we'll see." Church stifled a giggle as she thought of letting Dean meet what could be possibly be his match.

"Well, maybe you should call this friend now. Get it out of the way. Looks like I'm going to be lonely tonight." Dean faked a pout for a second.

"Can't. She went on a vacation during this supernatural hunter hiatus, said something about needing some time with sun, sand, a string bikini, strong drinks, and sex with handsome men."

"Oh, so she's a hunter too?" His face held a look of intrigue. "Sounds like a good way to spend it… if I happened to be one of those handsome men. Sure sounds like she knows how to have fun."

Chuch nodded. "Yeah, and she does, which is why I think you'd find she's right up your alley."

"Uh-huh… what do you mean? You're kinda pimping your friend out to me without asking her."

"Oh no, see, she likes good-looking bad boys, which makes you her type so she won't mind. But her wit might surpass yours. She's pretty and knows it, smart too, strong, and one hell of a hunter. I'm almost willing to bet my life on it that she's your type. No pun intended."

"Huh? Can't say I'm not a little bit interested in meeting her after hearing that." Dean raised his eyebrows, nodded his head. "All the more reason to get you out of this alive then." He smiled.

"Do you think you can? I mean, you've met Ronove, you know what we're dealing with." Church wanted his honest opinion. From everything she had heard about Dean, she knew that he'd be straight with her.

He rubbed a hand over his face for a moment. "Well… uh… maybe. We'll try. That's the best I can give you." A rueful short smile crossed his lips after he said the words.

"Okay... I mean, I know that there might not be anything to stop this. That I'm at the end, nothing left but to…" She went quiet, letting it sink in.

"Yeah…" Dean was silent for a moment, looked behind him. "So, Church, got any quarters? I can't resist the Magic Fingers if I'm going to be here for awhile."

Church smiled, laughed, and was thankful that Dean knew how to lighten the mood. She made a note to try calling the friend she mentioned later. They would definitely have some fun together in her opinion.

She got up, went into her bag, handed him a small coin purse. "Knock yourself out."

He gave her a nod, eyes raised, a devilish grin on his face. "Sweet. Thanks, Church."

"Welcome." Church watched him stretch out on her bed, put a few quarters into the slot beside it and grin like a child in a candy store as the bed started to vibrate. Then she sat at the table, opened up a laptop and started to do some research as she waited for Sam to come back.

[ - ]

A half hour and all of her quarters later, Dean was half asleep on her bed while Church was reading at the table when Sam returned came back into her room.

"Bobby's plan might actually work," he said as he sat down across from Church and smiled.

Church just looked at Sam, not sure if she should ask or wait for him to explain.

"No crap," Dean mumbled.

"Dude, you just had to use her bed, didn't you?" Sam asked Dean as a way of acknowledging that his brother was still there.

Sitting up, Dean just sort of smirked at his brother. "There was nothing else to do, and Church didn't mind. She actually gave me the quarters – this one's some girl, Sammy. You better save her."

"Tell me you didn't?" Sam gave a small chuckle and an exaggerated look of disbelief as he asked Church.

"No harm, plus it shut him up." She grinned back at him.
Sam just laughed. "It usually does."

"Hey, I heard that," Dean whined with slight irritation.

"So, Sam, you think it might actually work, that I might actually have a chance?" Even though Church didn't know all the details, she felt hopeful now that Sam seemed to agree with whatever Bobby had cooked up as a plan.

"Bobby filled me in on everything. He also seems to think we might be able to do this without the weapon. He'd like us to have the weapon just to be on the safe side, but if he can't find it by tomorrow morning at least, we might have to do this without it."

She tipped her head with a knowing look. "Do you think we'll stand a chance without it? What is it anyway?"

"We might, and uh, it's a crossbow and arrows."

"That was it, a crossbow." Dean stood up now and paced a little.

"What's so special about this crossbow?" Church wondered how a crossbow was supposed to help kill a demon, it just didn't sound like it would that much.

"I know it doesn't sound like a deadly weapon against a demon, but it's not actually the crossbow we need. It's the arrows. Apparently they're carved from the most famous cross in history. The text says that if you get a powerful demon weak enough with the spell first and then shoot them with one of these arrows, it's not the wood itself but the blood the wood was stained with is what actually does them in."

"And unicorn spit heals all wounds, Harry Potter," quipped Dean sarcastically.

Church chuckled a little too loudly then. Dean sort of had a point. It sounded a bit ridiculous to her too.

"Um yeah, that was phoenix tears, genius," Sam corrected him.

"Of course you would know that," Dean snorted, rolled eyes. "You thought I didn't notice you were reading those books and watching those movies late at night while I was asleep?"

Church laughed again at them. "Boys, as much as I find your knowledge of that boy wizard fascinating, can we get back to this weapon? Like does Bobby have any idea where we might find it?"

Sam scowled at Dean and then looked back at Church. "Right, uh, he's looking into that. He hasn't even heard of the thing before, but he might know of someone who has. Said he'd make a few calls and call us back if there's anything."

"All right then I guess I pray Bobby can track this thing down and wait for his call in the meantime," Church sighed. She wanted him to track down the crossbow and the arrows and call back, but she wasn't going to hold her breath. She wondered what good it would do if they found it within the day anyway. It wasn't like it would be delivered that quickly or that she'd be lucky enough that it'd be nearby should Ronove arrive within the next day or two.

"While we wait for Bobby to call back, I'm going to read the rest of your book, see if there's anything you might of overlooked and get a better understanding of all of it," Sam said.

"Sure, take your time." Church nodded.

"Okay, well I'm hungry. So, time to hit a place with some grub, you coming, Sam?" Dean gave Sam a 'we need to talk' look and nodded slightly towards the door.

Sam understood the look Dean gave him and returned it. "Yeah, um, sure, Dean."

Dean walked over to the door, opened it, and then turned around and looked at Church. "Thanks for letting me use your bed, Church." He grinned at her. "That was just what I needed."

Sam stifled a laugh and got up from the table, walked towards the door, and stopped behind Dean who had one foot out the door already.

"Sure thing, Dean." Church tried not to laugh as she smiled lightly at him.

"Let's go," said Dean.

"Wait a second," Sam uttered and looked at Church. "Church, did you want to come with us?"

Dean muttered "great," under his breath light enough for Sam to hear it, but Church didn't catch it.

"Nah, there's something I've got to do, but thanks for asking, Sam." She smiled.

Dean walked out completely, headed to the Impala.

"Oh, okay. Call us if something happens."

"I will, and same. Call me if you hear back from Bobby."

"Sure. So I'll, uh, see you later then?" Sam sort of smiled.

"Definitely, and if you want to ditch Dean before you do, that'd be great." She laughed and gave him a slightly suggestive grin.

"All right." Sam laughed. "Later then… oh, and, Church," he paused, "be careful." He hid the concern on his face, but not quite from his eyes. "I'd feel better if you came with us, but you obviously know how to look after yourself, but be careful okay?"

"I will, and I'll be fine. See you back here later. Bye, Sam." Church could tell he wanted to stay, or at least keep her close by in the event that something happened. He truly wasn't going to let her face this alone. She was touched by that and thankful for it.

Sam gave her a smile and a nod, then walked and shut the door behind him.

As soon as Sam closed the door, Church got out of the chair, went to the window and carefully peeked out of a corner from behind the curtain. She watched the Impala drive out of the lot and down the road before she went over to her bag, dug around until she found what was carefully hidden in her belongings and what she was looking for.

In her hands she held what appeared to be a compact mirror. Church opened it up and pulled out a chain with a key on it.
Church hurried out and locked up her room to start on the twenty minute walk to the garage where she'd left her car. Her red 1970 Pontiac GTO had started making a funny noise she'd never heard before, and it started happening just before she'd made it to this town. So, she'd taken it to a local mechanic instead of calling Bobby to come out and tow it. Luckily for her, the problem was somewhat minor but it was going to take at least a day before he could fix it. That was what she had called Bobby for in the end though, just to make sure that the guy wasn't going to charge her an arm and a leg and rip her off for the work. He had offered to drive out and fix the car for her, but she turned him down as it wouldn't be worth the journey if she could get it fixed here.

When Church got to the garage, she chatted awhile with the mechanic before paying her bill and thanking him because he had even polished the car free of charge, telling her a car like that should shine seeing as it was pretty much in mint condition still.

Glad to have her car back, Church got behind the wheel and fired up the engine. Her car purred like the cat she'd always thought of it as, the weird rattle sound and bit of vibration was now gone. Then she started to head for where she needed to go, the place that required the key she now wore around her neck.

Notes: So in the 2009 version the weapon to use on the demon was just a crossbow, but coming back in to clean up the story and hopefully finish it, the arrows were added. It still sounds super cheesy and ridiculous as an idea to me, but I stuck with it instead of changing it to some other imagined weapon to use on a demon.

Also, Church's mentioned friend is the OFC in the stories with Dean. They were always supposed to meet later on in this one as an introduction to moving on to a Dean focused story. I just never wrote more of this story before jumping on to the next, and then the next, and so on. And then a bunch of writer's block hit and I left this story and the other two I never finished alone for years. Once Supernatural ended, I felt a little nostalgic to come back and work on the fanfic I abandoned. So, bear with me on how this revised update goes before I come up with a new chapter. Also working way more of the fourth story in the Dean series. Because this one was always a little thinly constructed... and the plot needs work.