Notes: Originally there were 10 chapters posted, but I have deleted number 10 as it is now in this chapter. It was always a super short chapter back then, so it seemed to make more sense to combine it with more and make a longer chapter now.

Also, everything up until the last [ - ] break in the chapter was all part of the 2009 version. What follows after that break was written back then as part of the next chapter that was never posted. I worked on it this year to get it as a part of this updated version, trying to get a feel for writing this one again.

Hopefully it's not awful or too cheesy or just boring.

"So wait, Bobby tracked it down that quickly? When do we get it then?" Sam asked as he and Dean got out of the car and went into their motel room.

"Yeah, he traced it back to the last person known to have it and probably still has it," Dean said as he sat down on his bed. "But I don't know when we'll get it."

"Is he going to pick it up?" Sam sat on his bed and turned on his laptop.

"Um… no."

Now Sam wasn't sure what was going on. Bobby knew they needed the crossbow and arrows, but he wasn't going to get them? There had to be some sort of reason for the delay. "No? He knows we need them, so what's the hold up?"

Dean eyed his brother curiously. "He's waiting for the person to call back first."

"Oh, okay… hope we can get them in time then." Sam went quiet and started searching for things related to Ronove.

"Hey, when has Bobby ever not come through for us?" Dean flicked on the TV and started channel surfing.

"That's true." Sam put the laptop aside and picked up his phone. He called Church and listened to her phone ring on the other end. It rang a few times before her voicemail greeting kicked in.

He sighed and hung up before the beep went off. He wanted to share this news with her even if it was only half good. There was no guarantee that they would be able to get their hands on the crossbow and its arrows in time, but as Dean had pointed out, Bobby always came through for them. He just hoped that Ronove wouldn't show up before then.

Sam called her again and this time left a short message asking Church to call him back because they'd heard from Bobby. Then he went back to researching on his laptop while Dean watched a movie.

[ - ]

Five hours had passed since they'd been back at the motel and Church still hadn't called Sam back yet.

He'd given up on researching what he could find out about Ronove. He hadn't found that much anyway, and now wanted to borrow the book he'd seen Church reading at the diner the other night.

Sam tried just hanging out and watching whatever it was Dean had on, but his mind was elsewhere. He was wrapped up in trying to put the pieces that didn't add up together from Church's story and her book. How she apparently knew what the plan was still didn't make sense, because despite what she had said, it wasn't actually anywhere in the book she had given him to read.

There was also the deal of them maybe not getting the crossbow and its arrows in time that was bugging him. There was still no word from Bobby again on where it was or when they might be able to get it, so apparently the older hunter was still waiting on a call himself.

Sam was also a little worried that he hadn't heard back from Church by now too. He had no idea what she had to do, where it was she'd gone, or if something had happened to her in the meantime. He tried calling her again, but once again there was no answer and he didn't want to fill up her inbox with messages when he'd left her three already.

"Dude, what are you, twelve and waiting by the phone for your first crush to call back?" Dean had noticed Sam checking his phone, fidgeting, and the few phone calls he'd made to Church already.

Sam groaned. "Church knew I'd call her when we heard from Bobby. It's already been like six hours since she left, Dean. She probably should have called back by now."

Dean stifled a little bit of a chuckle. "She can take care of herself, Sammy. Wouldn't be much of a hunter if she couldn't."

"I know, it's just… she was waiting for Bobby to call too. So you'd think she'd be in touch now that we have news… unless Ronove ambushed her somewhere." Sam was getting worried, and he was sure that not only could Dean see it, but could also hear it in his voice.

"No chance. He's not coming for her on her own when he knows we're here. Ronove wouldn't pass up another shot at me, or at both of us." Dean tried to reassure Sam. He knew how Ronove acted, knew that was one demon that wouldn't refuse taking a chance at destroying them now that he knew they were trying to help Church. If vengeance was a beast then so was Ronove. Dean knew that bastard would try to kill him up here since he had enjoyed and had too much fun torturing him for a little while in Hell the time he'd paid him a visit down there.

"You're sure about that?" Sam had to ask even though he trusted Dean.

"Of course," Dean paused as smirked at his brother, "and when he does come, he's going home without the last soul he needs to complete his full bag of goodies. We're not gonna let that son of a bitch get what he wants."

Sam nodded. "I hope you're right," he muttered.

"I am, just like when I tell you Church will show up," Dean's tone was confident. He wasn't sure that was the case, but for Sam he tried to make it sound that way.

"Yeah, okay. And yeah, she probably will be back shortly." Sam downplayed it now.

"And you'll be keeping watch in her room when she does, and while I'm out. Speaking of… don't want to keep that waitress waiting by sitting here any longer watching you mope around." Dean grinned devilishly as he got up and put on his jacket.

Sam was going to say something, but then stopped himself. "All right. Have fun."

"Untwist your panties, you'll hear back from her soon enough, Sammy."

"Uh huh. Night, Dean."

"Call me if anything happens… have a good night with Church, Sammy. You need it." Dean walked out of the door and headed off to his date.

Sam sat there for a moment before he tried calling Church again. There was still no answer and even though he knew Dean was right, he couldn't help but worry about where she was or what had happened to her. He had a feeling that all this silence from her was nothing good.

As Dean was about to get into his car, he noticed another one a few spaces over. There was a sweet and sleek looking red '70 GTO in the parking lot that hadn't been there before. It was parked sitting under one of the lot's lights, and it was buffed to a shine that caught his eye. He took a moment to appreciate the beauty of another classic car. While it would never compare to his baby, it still deserved to be admired for the condition it was in so he went to have a closer look.

That's when he noticed who was sitting in the driver's seat – Church. It was a surprise when he hadn't expected to see her just then, let alone in a car like that.

He wondered then what was going on. If she was here, why wasn't she answering her phone? Why hadn't she come to see them in their room either? Sam had called her at least a dozen times, left her a few messages, Bobby had probably called her too, and yet here she was sitting in her car appearing to be a little zoned out.

While he didn't want to be late, Dean couldn't ignore the fact that she was there, so he wandered closer and tapped on the driver's side window.

Church jumped in her seat, looked at the window, and quickly recognized Dean as her mind came out of the mental fog she was in. She rolled down the window and threw on the best fake smile she could muster up. "Hey, Dean." She folded the letter that was in her hand back up as she looked at him.

"Nice ride, Church." He rested a hand on the roof of the car, took a quick but better look at the interior of her car and noticed that she was just slipping something into her bag, her hands shaking as she did it.

"Thanks." Another faked grin, and this time she looked past him instead of at him, hoping he wasn't going to talk for much longer.

"Everything okay?" He could tell something was up with her. He could read fake smiles better than most since he'd been giving his own to other people for most of his life, and she had just flashed him two in the span of a minute.

"Yeah, everything's great." Church knew she could mask the lie in her tone to hide the fact that everything was far from great, but she could only hope her eyes didn't show the truth.

"Okay." Dean knew she was lying, but he wasn't going to pry when Sam could do that. She seemed more likely to open up to his brother. "So… uh, Sam's been calling you like a preteen with puppy love. He's worried something happened to you, so you might to call him back."

Church gasped softly. The sharp intake of breath was so slight, but she knew Dean had heard it. If only they knew what had happened to her after she'd left here earlier, that this entire mess had just gotten more complicated. She wasn't sure she could tell them, but knew she would have to eventually, but not right now. Her mind still hadn't taken hold of the words she had read. "Oh, I guess I better check in with him then. Wait," she paused, "puppy love?" She chuckled a little, trying to pretend everything was normal.

"Yeah, so you should invite him back to your room." Dean grinned. "He can give you the good news, and whatever else you might want."

She laughed at the last part of Dean's comment. Then it clicked in, he'd said good news. "There's good news?"

"Uh huh, but Sammy should give it to you." He wanted to add "in more ways than one" to that, but he decided against it. He could tease them both about spending the night together tomorrow.

"I guess… wait… are you headed out or something?"

"Got a date, which I'm now late for," Dean said as he looked at his watch. "Have a good night with my brother, Church." Dean smiled at her before he started to walk back to his car.

"Thanks, Dean. Have fun with your date." Church rolled up her window and grabbed her bag from the passenger's seat before she got out of her car.

Dean sat in the Impala waiting for a moment while he watched Church lock up her GTO and then head into her room. He knew without a doubt that she was definitely hiding something, but didn't have an idea as to what it might be. He'd let Sam try to figure it out tonight, and if not then he'd get on it himself tomorrow. Right now all he wanted was a beer or two and the company of a pretty girl for awhile to forget the feeling he had that things were about to literally go to hell for them once again. It had been way too quiet lately for it not to, and whatever Church was hiding was bound to come out soon enough or maybe Ronove would come for her first. Damn it, things are definitely going to hell one way or another, Dean thought as he drove away to meet his date.

[ - ]

Church paced her motel room for about ten minutes. Her mind was still trying to grasp a hold on everything in the letter her grandmother had written her, what she felt about it, and what she was going to do. She still felt lost and stunned at the same time.

She had just been sitting in her car for awhile when Dean had found her.

Time was missing, and she had no idea how she'd driven back to the motel or when she had for that matter, just that she had gone through the motions to get here.

Church remembered reading the letter, feeling as if the floor had been ripped out from underneath her, and then suddenly she was back here with Dean tapping on her car window. How long had she been just sitting there, she didn't know. Didn't even recall hearing her phone ring a bunch of times either when Dean had said Sam had called her a lot and that he was worried about her.

Sam.

Sighing, she pulled her phone out of her pocket before sitting down on the bed. She had missed bunch of calls and had five messages. Sam had called numerous times, Bobby had called once, and an unknown number had also called.

All but one of the messages were from Sam asking her to call him back, wanting to know if she was okay, wondering where she was. The other was from Bobby asking her to call him when she got a chance.

Church knew she had to call Sam back, but what would she say? What could she say? How could she lie? She was sure he'd see right through it when she did lie to him, and even though she didn't want to lie to him, she had to for tonight at least. She was sure that out of anyone else, Sam would understand the most about what she'd just learned. She just didn't have the guts to say the words out loud yet, or the strength to bear the weight they would carry when they settled in for real, though.

Sam could make her feel safe, as if the world wasn't spinning out of control around her. And he cared. It was obvious in how many calls he'd made to her, and in his voice with each new message. Sweet Sammy, he was, and it was just as the demon had said when they'd been at the diner that morning.

And didn't they have some unfinished business to attend to since Dean had burst in on them earlier and ruined the moment? She hoped so.

Taking a deep breath, Church tried to center herself. She went to call Sam back, then hesitated. Another deep breath to help calm her nerves a little more and then she made the call.

Sam picked up after the first ring. "Hi, Church." His voice said he was glad to finally hear back from her.

"Hey, Sam, sorry I haven't called you back until now. There was some stuff I had to do and I kinda lost track of time." When all good lies held a bit of truth, Church knew it was believable when she wasn't exactly lying about it. She had lost track of time.

"That's alright, Church. I'm just glad to hear you're okay." Sam knew he probably sounded lame, but he didn't care. He had been worried that Ronove had caught up with her and he hadn't been around to do anything about it.

"Yeah… so I heard from Dean a few minutes ago that you have some good news to share. Want to come over and tell me about it?" She tried putting everything else out of her mind. Maybe there was hope still.

"Sure," he said without hesitation. There was good news to share, and maybe they could also pick up from where Dean had interrupted earlier. Sam was a little hopeful on that front now, even if he knew he shouldn't be. "I'll be over in a few minutes, okay?"

"Sure, and oh, just knock and then come in, Sam. I know you're on your way, so…"

"Yeah, okay, I will. See you in a few."

Both of them hung up, and set about sort of fixing themselves up a little before Sam made his way over to Church's room.

Notes: Still liking the story? Everything working out okay or is it terrible?

Started re-editing and moving this over to a03 back in January, and I still haven't written a new chapter for it yet. It was fun to come back to it, and if I can figure out what needs to happen next here, I will gladly post a brand new update. I've tried writing it as a distraction to the other two I'm still trying to finish up. One of them has been moving along, but this story and the third in Dean series has been stalled for that reason. So hopefully sometome soon...

Hope anyone reading is enjoying the story and Church's and Sam's crushes... as well as Dean's teasing of his brother.

If you're interested in knowing when there's a new update - you know what to do. Or keep checking back once in awhile. We will ge there, eventually. Took me over 10 years to come back to writing fanfic, so... it's possible.

Thanks for reading/checking out the story! Feedback still welcome at any time!