AN: This started out as an addition to Changing Channels then took on a life of its own. Hope you enjoy!

I don't know where I'm at
I'm standing at the back
And I'm tired of waiting
Waiting here in line, hoping that I'll find what I've been chasing.

I shot for the sky
I'm stuck on the ground
So why do I try, I know I'm gonna fall down
I thought I could fly, so why did I drown?
Never know why it's coming down, down, down.

Not ready to let go
Cause then I'd never know
What I could be missing
But I'm missing way too much
So when do I give up what I've been wishing for.

SINNERS & SAINTS

The Day Before Halloween

LISA'S HOUSE
Cicero, Indiana

Beth's POV

I hung the last of the little plastic black spiders on the fake cobwebs in the tree, and grinned. This was kind of fun. As the daughter of a minister, I'd never been allowed to indulge in Halloween the way that all my friends had.

Of course, now I understood that to be a hunter thing, not a minister thing. Dad had used it as an excuse, saying that we shouldn't encourage kids to dress as demons and go out into the world. And would hold special Halloween sermons for people to attend, rather than go trick-or-treating.

As a Hunter, I understood that he'd been trying to keep his community safe from the monsters that tended to come out on these nights. Glancing up at the dark moon in the sky, I said a quiet little prayer of thanks that at least we wouldn't have to worry about werewolves tomorrow tonight - that was one thing we could cross off the list. It still left a whole lot of other horrors to contend with.

Lisa was completely oblivious to this however, and was happily decorating the house with all manner of Halloween themes - witches, ghosts, vampires and pumpkins. We'd all had a go earlier with Ben, carving out pumpkins. Even Dean. It was a side of him I hadn't seen before.

John had definitely not allowed us to do anything Halloween-like. Instead, we'd been on patrol, every October 31st. Part of me always felt like we should be driving to the nearest cemetery at this time of year, and not resting until every last ghoul, revenant, or other creature was dead.

"Hot Chocolate?" Sam asked, walking out onto the porch carrying two mugs. I smiled and nodded, moving to intercept him of his chocolatey goodness.

Sam looked around at the porch with the flashing orange lights, flickering tealights in the pumpkins, and shook his head. "If Dad could see us now. He'd be rolling over in his grave."

"I'm itching to go patrolling the cemetery, to be honest," I confessed and Sam chuckled, shaking his head.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah! Aren't you?"

"No," Sam replied, his face growing sombre. "No, I gave up that particular Halloween ritual years ago."

I fell silent as Lisa walked up and took her mug from Sam. "I think we're done," she said cheerfully, looking around at the decked out porch.

"It looks great Lisa," Sam said with a smile.

"I love this time of year," Lisa replied with a chuckle, turning around to admire the houses across the road with their lights and decorations. "Don't you?"

I cringed, thinking about how Sam had lost Jess at this time of year, and then there was the Raising of Samhain all too recently… one of the seals holding Lucifer in his cage. Halloween. It had pretty much been a disaster for all of us.

"Yeah," Sam said with a smile, offering her the lies we told everyone. "It's always memorable…"

I reached out a hand and squeezed Sam's forearm, offering him a supportive smile. He nodded back at me, and I knew he was okay. Lisa continued to talk about the neighbourhood and what they did each year, as we listened in polite silence.

I was glad Dean had taken Ben out to the local ball game, he'd have been a lot more vocal about the dangers of Halloween. In fact, I was waiting for the inevitable head-butting to come later in the evening, when Dean found out that Lisa was planning to take Ben trick-or-treating.

BALL PARK
CICERO, INDIANA

Dean's POV

Ben had been pretty quiet during the match, we'd gotten corn dogs and sodas, and all the merchandise you could for the local team, yet he was as silent as someone at a funeral. Minus the crying and all that girl stuff.

"Hey kiddo," I said as we walked back to the car, "penny for your thoughts?"

"Eh, nothing," he replied.

"Awww c'mon, don't be like that, something's on your mind obviously," I said. "You can talk to me."

Ben hesitated, stopping about twenty yards short of the Impala. He glanced over at an open space nearby and took his glove and ball, dropping his bag and other gear under a tree. He gestured at me to put on my glove, and I did so with a nod, punching the inner leather. As we tossed the ball back and forth I struggled to find the words to get him to open up.

"So what's going on?"

"Did you ever love mom?" He threw the ball and I was so astounded by the question I forgot to move, grimacing as it hit my chest. I frowned, leaning down to grab it, and then stood up.

"Uh, Ben, look. I like your mom a lot," I said carefully. "Believe me, she's a great girl, and she deserves only the best."

"But you never loved her, not like you do Beth," he cut in. I sighed, watching him, seeing the desire for the truth written all over his face. I cringed, feeling my heart start to beat a little faster. I opened my mouth and then shut it when no words came out.

I looked at Ben, internally struggling with whether or not to lie. If there was one thing I hated more than anything, it was having to lie to him. With all the secrets Dad had kept from us over the years, I was keen to be upfront with him - much to both Beth and Lisa's despair.

"No buddy, I didn't. Not like that. I'm sorry," I said finally.

He nodded, looking down at his glove.

"What's this all about?" I asked, crossing the space between us and grasping his shoulder in my hand. "I've never lied to you Ben, and I'll tell you anything you want to know. The truth. You just gotta ask."

He looked up at me. "What about me?"

"You?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah, you don't love mom… but…" It hit me like a tonne of bricks, and was suddenly scrambling to give this little guy the reassurances he needed.

"Hey, hey hey hey, hang on a minute," I said, kneeling down so I was more at his level. "You are a whole different ballgame, Ben." I licked my lips, searching for the right words. "I might not have known about you, but… from the minute I did, I wanted to get to know you. To be here for you, in whatever form you want me to be. Me, Beth and Sam, we think you're an awesome kid, and I love spending time with you."

"But, I'm not Beth's son, and you love her."

"It doesn't matter, Ben," I replied quickly. "Love doesn't work that way, okay? You love who you love, and sometimes it makes sense, and sometimes it doesn't. And you? Well, you're my son and nothing is going to change that. I… well I ain't real good at saying this sort of stuff, just ask Beth, but you gotta understand - I do love you, Ben. You're my family. And there ain't nothing more important than family."

Ben nodded, a smile spreading over his face.

"You feel better?" I asked, hopeful. Another nod. I patted him on the back, thinking about the two women back at the house decorating for Halloween. "And I love your mom too, but just not in the same way - I love her as a really good friend, you know?" Ben nodded. "And family don't end with blood, Ben. She's family too, now. Whether she likes it or not." He sniggered, but the smile on his face was all I needed.

"Alright then, good. Let's go get a burger before we head home, huh?" I stood up, brushing at my knee before turning to toward the car. "And I got an idea for Halloween," I said. "But I'm gonna need your help…. Especially with your uncle."

The Next Evening (Halloween Night)

LISA'S HOUSE
Cicero, Indiana

Beth's POV

"The Addams Family would have been easier," Lisa commented, looking at herself in the mirror as she adjusted her 1960's frock and then tucked the last of her dark tresses under the blonde wig that made her look like Sandra Dee from Grease. "I could have at least been Wednesday, and kept the hair."

"You look great," I laughed, moving to adjust my own wig. Long, it hung straight down my back until it hit my behind. Half black, half white, I looked like I belonged in a commercial for a neenish tart. "Mind you, I think I would have made a great Morticia."

"Lily Munster is completely underestimated and overlooked," Dean said, coming into the room. He shrugged into a black jacket over the black undershirt he was wearing, and grinned. I shook my head at the Frankenstein-like make-up covering his face, and kissed his cheek when he got close enough.

"But Gomez was so sexy," I winked at him.

"Ah, cara mia…" Dean said, grabbing me. Before I knew it I was hanging above the floor, secure in his arms as he grinned down at me. "Herman has some tricks up his sleeve too."

"Wow, sweeping the girl off her feet, Herman has all the moves," Lisa laughed with approval. She looked up with delight as the door opened and the rest of the family walked in. "Oh, you guys look great!"

Ben had what looked like Vulcan ears, though I had been assured they were vampire stock- a white painted face along with a devil's peak drawn onto his forehead to make his slicked black hair look like Dracula's son. Dean had found him a costume of black shorts, white shirt and suspenders - once coupled with his black tie and jacket, Ben looked every bit the part of Eddie Munster. I was still reeling from the complete 180 Dean had pulled on us regarding Halloween.

"I look like a dork," Sam whined. "I'm taller than Dean, why am I stuck being Grandpa?" Sam was decked out in an old sixties style tuxedo, complete with bow tie, with his hair parted down the middle, slicked down. A freshly painted white face with bolded eyebrows, bushy sideburns, and a black cape with a high neck completed the ensemble.

"Because," Dean replied, still holding us in position. "Herman has the girl." His eyes met mine, and the smile faded from his face for a moment, his lips meeting mine and brushing along them. I felt my breath catch in my throat, hands moving to grip the back of his neck as he thrust his tongue into my mouth, seeking out mine.

"Ewwwww!" The other three people in the room cried out, and then Ben's voice chimed in with, "get a room!"

"Hey," Dean said, pulling away and straightening us up. "Where did you learn that?"

"Uncle Sam," Ben replied with a giggle, looking up at the man next to him.

"Sam!" Dean growled.

"What?" Sam asked, throwing his shoulders up in an exaggerated shrug. "You guys are as horny as Gomez and Morticia, maybe we should have gone with the Addams family. At least I could have been Lurch."

"No, no the Munsters are way cooler," Dean insisted.

"Either way, the costumes are done now," I stepped in. I looked down at the cream flowing peasant dress I was wearing and shook my head silently. Dresses. Well that was a rarity, even I had to admit.

"Plus, we didn't have enough people for the Addams family," Dean said.

"God I hate Halloween," Sam complained.

"Oh please, you weren't complaining when Jess was dressed up as a nurse," Dean pointed out, albeit rather insensitively.

"You know, this is completely out of character for you, Dean," Sam pointed out. "Remember all the 'the worst time ever to let your kids run rampant…don't know what really is out there in the dark,' speeches?"

"Yeah?" Dean said, glancing at Ben. "Well, times have changed Sammy. Gotta move with them, or get left behind. But maybe you wouldn't realise that, being the old man of the group."

"Shut up!" Sam snapped.

"Boys, boys, this is meant to be fun," Lisa interrupted.

"True, plus - I think we can handle the monsters." I agreed, making a mental note that I should probably put on a thigh holster under this dress, with a rock-salt loaded gun… and silver bullets … and iron too, just in case. In fact, I probably should find Ruby's knife too, just to be doubly sure.

"So enough with the bickering," Lisa said. "It's time to go trick or treating!"

Later that night

SOME RANDOM PORCH
Cicero, Indiana

Beth's POV

Despite the protesting, once we got to the treating part of Halloween, all the boys were in full swing. I watched as Dean stood on the front porch of a house chatting to a few younger guys holding a party. They'd already fed Ben candy and sent him on his way next door with Sam, Dean was trying to con a beer out of the guys.

"Oh come on! Look at all the effort we've gone to here," Dean said. One of the guys, looking over at Lisa and I standing down the steps, smirked.

"Well maybe if we could get a little action from the ladies…"

Dean turned with a grin, shrugging and gesturing as if we should comply.

"What?!" I spluttered out, looking incredulously at Dean, and then the offensive man. "You can't be serious, Dean, come on."

"It's Herman, and you know, Herman isn't opposed to … you know… maybe sharing," Dean replied. Lisa snorted beside me, shaking her head.

"He's serious, isn't he?" She asked. I raised my eyebrow at her and nodded, which made her laugh even more.

Lisa flashed me a cheeky grin, moving behind me and sliding her hands around my waist, bringing them to rest just under my breasts as she nuzzled her lips in against my neck.

"Uh, Lis, what'cha doing?" I asked, my voice a little pitched.

"Playing along," she whispered, and I felt a small kiss placed against my skin. Dean was staring, slack-jawed and amazed as were three other guys who had joined them on the porch.

"Oh you are one lucky man," the first guy said to Dean, handing him a fresh beer. "Enjoy, man."

Dean took a long pull of his beer and shook his head. "Yeah, uh, thanks man," he said, nodding and hurrying down the stairs, breaking Lisa and I apart.

"What the hell was that?" He asked urgently. Lisa laughed, slapping him on the behind before skipping off after Sam and Ben who had moved down another house. "What the hell was that?" Dean repeated.

"That, darling Herman, was you needing to be more careful what you wish for," I replied, slipping my arm around him. "That's a side to Lisa I haven't seen yet."

"You and me both," he muttered, taking another sip. "Dammit, that was hot, these pants already don't fit the greatest, you know."

I looked down at the offending bulge at the front of his groin, and he shifted uncomfortably. "We can do something about that, you know," I replied, lifting my face to place an innocent kiss under his left ear. Dean groaned, and I felt a hand slip down over my behind, squeezing lightly.

"Dammit, why didn't we get a motel? Stuck in Lisa's spare bedroom tonight when I just want to…" His eyes bled to dark desire, and I took his free hand, leading him after Sam, Lisa and Ben.

"You'll just have to be quiet," I said. "It's not like you haven't had to do that in the past."

"Yeah, but not in a long time!" He protested.

Later On...

LISA'S HOUSE
Cicero, Indiana

Beth's POV

The room was dark by the time I got back from the bathroom. I was still decked out in Lily's peasant gown, but my hair was at least back to my own. Not quite as long as the wig I'd been wearing earlier, it still fell halfway down my back in curled tresses. Dean's breath caught as I entered, finding the room alight with candles.

No longer sporting the makeup of Herman Munster, Dean was freshly showered, and dressed in nothing but his boxer shorts, which looked a little constricted at the moment when I glanced down.

"Hey you," I said, shutting the door behind me.

"Hey…" he breathed, letting out an appreciative sigh. "You look… beautiful."

"It's the candlelight," I said as he moved to stand in front of me, eyes locked with mine.

"No way," he protested. Lifting a hand, he let the outside of his fingers softly caress down my cheek and along my jawline before dropping to grasp my hand. "Come on." Pulling gently on my arm, he tugged me over to the bed, walking backwards the entire time, eyes never leaving me.

As we came to a stop, he pulled me in close and an insistent press against my stomach told me just how turned on he was already. Hot breath drew across my shoulder as he pulled back the elasticised neckline, revealing my milky white skin. I shivered, standing patiently and silently as Dean's fingers continued to explore my body over the dress I was wearing.

Tiny circles from his fingertips drove my body into shivers. I reached out to grip his biceps, feeling the hard muscles bunch beneath my palms, tensing as he restrained himself from skipping the foreplay and launching into where we both knew this was going. I lifted my face to his, closing my eyes as his breath ghosted over my jaw to my lips, hovering, waiting. I stood my ground, desperately wanting him to bridge the distance between us, our breaths mingling in short, shallow bursts of heat.

When the spell was finally broken, I let out a deep moan, opening my mouth to accept his insistent tongue, thrusting and circling in a tango for two as we melted into each other. The only sound in the room was our increased breathing as we pressed urgently against the other, hands pawing along his back, his mirroring mine and pulling me even tighter toward his hardness.

Spinning around and pushing me backwards, we landed on the soft downy covers of the bed, causing the bed frame to hit the wall with a bang. I broke into a giggle, and Dean looked up in alarm, before smiling down at me.

"Shhhhhhh…." he said, kissing my neck with his hot, wet lips. My giggles turned to quiet ragged gasps as he grasped the hem of my dress, pulling it up and baring my leg to his wandering hand. Hot palm scorched my skin, dragging a line of molten lava, left quickly cooling as his touch moved on.

When his fingers slipped in against my inner thigh, I opened my mouth to moan, Dean quickly smothered any noise with another deep, hungry kiss. There was a comfort in his weight next to me, a leg curled around my own, pulling it open until my thigh was pressed in against his arousal. I was pinned, yet completely open to his every whim. I would never get tired of this.

With a grin, he pressed a couple of fingers into the wet folds of my centre, and I arched off the mattress, forcing his touch harder against me. "Oh yes…" I whispered.

"Mmmmf," he murmured, burying his nose into my hair and inhaling. He slowly, deliberately drew his fingers up and down, circling them over the sensitive nub which had me panting for air each time; then plunging deeper into my core, wracking my body with slower, more intense ripples of pleasure.

My hands were not idle in this. They moved anywhere they could, caressing along his smooth skin, removing his boxer shorts, pulling him against me. Gripping and squeezing his arms, hips, thighs as the ebbs of his work started to reach a crescendo. Arching into his touch, I was forced to pull away, throwing myself against the bed and clutching the covers tightly as I felt my body start to lose control. Only then did Dean shift, continuing his deep, methodical finger movements as he repositioned himself above me, spreading my legs wider with his knees; then looking into my eyes. I nodded, licking my lips as I reached up to grab his hips.

In one long movement, he withdrew his fingers at the same time as he thrust into my waiting wetness, burying himself to the hilt. I cried out sharply in pleasure and found a hand over my mouth, teasing, pleased eyes looking into my own. "Shhhhhh…" he reminded me, and I nipped at his fingers playfully, smiling as he placed a finger across my lips and I sucked it into the cavern of my mouth, swirling my tongue around its tip. Dean moaned softly in reply, his eyes fluttering closed as he pushed himself harder into me.

"Devil…" he muttered.

I trembled beneath him with each small movement, gulping down the moans I so desperately wanted to send to the heavens. I could feel him so far inside that we might as well have been one being; I never wanted him to stop. My legs wrapped around his, arms sliding along his back until he was pulled chest to chest, the only space between us at our mouths as he ground slowly.

His breathing was steady, calm, while mine was anything else. I gasped in short, rapid succession as he hit the sweet spot, pulling out then driving languidly back inside, his hips doing all the work as we writhed together. As I felt my release start to breach the surface, I dared some soft encouragement, whimpering into his mouth, "Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh... "

My lips brushed along his as my legs turned to tight, crushing vices around his waist, my heels digging into his buttocks as I tensed, waiting for that pivotal moment. Then it hit, the sweet, rippling melody of ecstasy, washing out from my centre, up through my torso and down through my legs, rendering me completely at his mercy, helpless to do anything but shake in his arms and whimper faintly into his passionate kisses.

Our world paused. Dean came to a stop, letting me shatter beneath him as I closed my eyes and let everything about him wash through and over me. "I love you," I whispered when I could finally speak. Looking up into tender eyes full of adoration. "I love you."

"I know," he replied in a low voice, and then he started to move. Harder this time, bracing himself against the mattress, his hands either side of me. He moved into a position that worked for him, the angle just right as evidenced by his utterance, "oh yeah." He was still getting deep, slipping easily in and out, but not quickly or with too much force to avoid the bed hitting the wall as it had earlier.

Raising his hips higher, he drove me down into the bed, gasping as he started to reach his own peak which was quickly coming. While we had in the past had marathons, in our youth thinking quantity mattered more than quality, life was different since Hell. Whatever had happened to him down there, he chose more often than not to meld us together, united and trembling as one. Moments like this where the whole world got put on hold, and we simply melted into each other.

"Oh... " his breath escaped his lips as he shuddered, grinding into me three more times, a little faster, finally throwing his head back and planting himself inside as his release flowed forth, filling me with a warm, primal feeling of nurturing, need and want. I laced my fingers through his hair, pulling him down, his arms finally collapsing. The full weight of his body pressed upon mine like a comforting blanket. We lay, releasing sharp exhales for breath, completely at peace inside our tiny universe.

2am - Halloween Night

LISA'S HOUSE
Cicero, Indiana

Beth's POV

I stretched languidly like a cat, a broad smile on my face. The last few hours had been incredibly necessary; I'd forgotten how much sharing a motel room with Sam affected our sex life. Rolling over to my side, I looked up at Dean who was staring out the window.

"What on earth has your attention now?" I asked. It was the third time he'd gone to the window, the other two being to yell at a couple of kids who were out looking to TP someone's house. He'd scared them off and I wondered if they were back for more.

"Come get a look at this guy," he answered, waving me over. I groaned, not wanting to leave the warmth of our bed, but complied after pulling his t-shirt over my head. When I got to the window there were flashing lights of an ambulance across the road.

"Huh, they didn't use sirens," I pointed out.

"Someone's already dead," Dean said. "Now look there," he added, pointing to a shadow under a huge willow tree in the front yard. I squinted, and could just make out the figure of a person hunched over in the darkness. "I saw the same guy earlier, I'm sure of it."

The figure was tall, thin, and looked as if he was wrapped in a dark cloak. "It's Halloween, Dean. There's a lot of creepy people out and about."

"I'm telling you it's the same guy," Dean said. "When we were over on Fifth Street, there was an ambulance there too, and so was he."

As we watched, a woman came out of the house opposite carrying a bowl and goblet. She hesitated for a moment, hovering just on the edge of the light cast from the porch, and then decidedly stepped under the tree. The figure waiting for her came forward and accepted the offered bowl and its accompanying cup.

Frowning, I tried to get a better look as a flash of green iridescent hue illuminated an emaciated face. The shadowed man devoured whatever was on the plate, and then drank greedily from the goblet before handing it back to the woman. She quickly left his presence, and scurried back inside.

"Huh," Dean said. "Nothing weird about that…"

"That was… not what you'd see every day," I agreed.

The figure started to move out onto the street under the light. "Come on!" Dean said, pulling his runners on. "Let's check this out."

"Are you crazy? It's the middle of the night!" I answered, moving to my jeans just the same. I slipped them on, sans underwear and pulled my runners on without socks. Dean was already tucking his gun into the back of his pants and moving out the door when I started to follow.

"There's something going on with this guy," he insisted in quiet whispers, letting us out the front door. I slipped Lisa's keys from the hall stand into my pocket as we exited, pulling the locked door closed behind us.

"So what, death? You think it's a reaper?" I asked. Dean hurried to the street, I was immediately behind him.

"This way," he said, starting to jog down the sidewalk. In the far distance we could see the dark silhouette of the man further in front of us. "No," he added. "If it was a reaper, we couldn't see it. This is something else."

I didn't want to point out that it could just be a morbid person following the ambulance around. Dean would have already weighed all the options, and somewhere in his hunter mind, he'd come up with the conclusion of a monster. I shivered lightly in the cool night air, glad I'd thought to grab my jacket on the way out of the bedroom. The one thing neither of us had managed to remember was our phones, and I was hoping we were not going to need to call for backup from Sam.

As we got closer, we slowed to a more casual saunter, Dean wrapping his arm around me as if we were out for a romantic midnight stroll. The man in front of us seemed to have a destination in mind, never hesitating as he went down one side street, and then another. We lolled back so as not to draw attention to ourselves, waiting to see where he ended up.

After about ten minutes, he came to a complete standstill in front of a house. For a moment he stood, looking up at the windows of the living room, still alight at this hour. Someone was awake inside. Dean pulled me into the bushes along the neighbour's fence, and we crouched concealed as surprisingly a man came to the door, opening it and looking out into the night.

Without a word, the dark cloaked man stepped on to the path leading to the house, and before we knew it, he had entered the house.

"Nothing weird about that," Dean muttered, standing up. He inclined his head toward the house and we crept across the lawn until we were standing under the window to the living room. Our eyes were at the same height as the window sill, looking inside we saw what appeared to be a home hospice. A single adjustable hospital bed took up the majority of the room, surrounded by other medical machines.

The man who had opened the door was now standing beside a bed, on it was another man who was wheezing, and sucking on an oxygen mask. His skin was grey and drawn, and we could clearly see that he was on death's doorstep.

"Why don't I get a good feeling about this?" Dean muttered.

"Look!" I exclaimed softly as the dark figure entered the room. He exchanged words with the man on the bed before looking up at the other person in the room. There was a nod exchanged, and then after a moment, the shadowed man leaned over the bed. Again, a green hazy light illuminated the area around the bed, and I grabbed Dean's hand, squeezing as we both watched, awestruck, while the creature sucked the light from the dying man.

"Dammit!" Dean cursed, pulling his gun. He ran for the door, it was unlocked, and I hurried after him, unarmed.

"Stop right there!" Dean called out as we entered the living room. I glanced at the man when the creature stepped back, holding its hands out; he was dead.

"It's not what you think," the creature said.

"Oh, and what do I think it is?" Dean asked.

"I'm a sin eater," he replied. "I just saved this man from going to Hell."

"Like Hell you did!"

"Please, listen!" The man standing by the bed said, his hands raised in the air. "It's true. It's what he does."

I looked the so-called Sin Eater over, troubled by the claim - he seemed to shift in and out of focus, as if surrounded by a dark cloud we couldn't quite get the full picture of.

"What did you do to him?" I asked. "Did you kill him?"

"No," came the reply. "He was on death's doorstep. I simply took away his burdens. Death did the rest."

"I've never heard of such a thing," I said, thinking that I most certainly should have come across this when Dean was facing Hell - what with the obvious benefits of having one's sins taken away.

"We are old, and stay well hidden," said the man.

"Yeah well, that don't mean you can't die," Dean said, flicking the safety off his gun.

"Only if you catch me!" With a whoosh he was suddenly gone, leaving us alone with a dead body, a shaking man, and a list of unanswered questions.

"What the hell?" Dean asked.

All Saint's Day (Nov 1st)

Lisa's House
Cicero, Indiana

Beth's POV

Sam and Lisa were not impressed that we'd somehow managed to pick up a case during our weekend away. Just the same, after what we'd seen, Dean wasn't letting this go; and neither was I. I looked up as Dean paced in front of me, talking to Bobby on speaker phone.

"Well, what are you callin' me for, ya idjits? Get Jefferson on the dang phone, sin eaters are his specialty… he learned everything from Beth's daddy."

"I called Jefferson," I replied, and Dean came to a stop in front of me. "He hasn't been answering his phone. Do you know where he is?"

"I haven't heard nothin' from him, but that ain't unusual. That boy likes to work alone. Always has."

I didn't know what to say to that, but he was right. Jefferson did have a way of turning up after weeks of being out of contact. He rarely explained where he'd been, or why he'd been gone. The few times I'd tried to pry, he'd told me there were some things I was just better off not knowing. I didn't push after that, though it had driven me crazy with curiosity.

"What did the witness say?" Bobby asked.

"That it's exactly as he claimed - a sin eater. There to take away the sins of his brother."

"Well, how sure are you this is a monster, and not something we should let go?" Bobby questioned. "Seems there's more important things you kids should be focusing on."

I sighed, looking over at Dean who scowled.

"Yeah well, we're doin' this Bobby, I don't care what it says it does, there was something not right about that thing," he said.

"Even so…"

"People don't do things like take on the sins of others for nothing, there's gotta be a catch here. Maybe it's a demon, some new way of getting souls… I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Dean continued.

"Well… I know better than to try and talk you out of a decision, just be careful," Bobby said finally. "And keep trying Jefferson."

"Okay Bobby, we will," I promised.

Dean hung up the phone and fell down on the couch, rubbing his eyes. "Man, I'm tired," he complained. "You know I saw that sin eater at the library earlier? I swear he's everywhere I go."

"Yeah, I saw him too. I think he's taunting us…" I said, standing up from the dining table and moving behind the couch so I could rub his shoulders. "You want a coffee?" I asked, Dean groaned and nodded, dropping his head back against the couch. I smiled, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "Be right back."

It was coming up on nine o'clock. Ben had been sent to bed, and as I moved down the hall to the kitchen, I heard Sam and Lisa talking.

"I'm just not sure, Sam. I mean, hunting? What you guys do is dangerous," Lisa said. I stopped, feeling a little bad about listening in, but wanting to know what they were talking about.

"It can be, that's true," Sam agreed, "but you have to understand. We were raised in this, Lisa. Dean doesn't know anything else. Beth, she pretty much doesn't either. I'm the only one that got away, started a life outside of hunting."

"That's what scares me," Lisa replied.

"Look, I know it's not ideal. But Dean and Beth, they're good at what they do," Sam reassured her.

"What about Ben?" Lisa asked. "What about the influence it'll have on him?"

"Dean adores Ben, so does Beth. There's no one better I would trust with my kid," Sam said. "To be honest, finding out about Ben… it's changed Dean."

"How so?"

"Well, he'd never admit it, but Dean I think after he met Ben, Dean really started to think about settling down... making a life with Beth," he said. I bit my lip, frowning. This was a theory Sam hadn't shared openly.

"Well then why haven't they?" Lisa asked.

There was a pause, and I waited breathlessly for the answer. I wanted to hear this too.

"I...uh. Well, it's me." Sam said. I heard Lisa make a sound of disagreement, and then Sam protested. "No, really. Dean and Beth? The only reason he's so angry with me going off and getting a life, was because he wanted that with Beth - but when I left… it caused such a rift with Dad, they just couldn't do it. And, they did try, after Beth was … well… dead. I know, it doesn't get any easier to say that. But they did, and they had to come out of retirement for me."

"I'm sure that's not true, Sam," Lisa said, her voice full of comfort.

"No, it is," Sam insisted. "They've always looked after me. And, well, I think they're never going to be able to stop. It's too ingrained. They need to look after me - it's their mission. Dad gave it to them, and they've never been able to let it go. I don't know that they ever will."

"But, they have to let you go some time Sam - you're a grown man."

"Not in their eyes," Sam replied quietly. "I never will be."

"You know, I've come up with a theory!" Dean's voice echoed down the hallway, making me jump a little as he followed the sound of his own voice.

Sam and Lisa stopped talking, and I hurried to join Dean before they realised I'd been listening to their conversation. Sam's head popped out from the archway into the kitchen and he frowned.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah… I was watching that scene from 'The Order' again," he said, scowling as Sam snickered. "What?!"

"That's hardly research Dean, it's a movie," Lisa chimed in.

"Hey, a lot of these things are based in truth, y'know!" Dean retorted. Sam shook his head.

"Like 'The Leprechaun?'" He asked. I shuddered, recalling that freaked out movie.

"Oh man, I tell you, I ever come up against one of those…" Dean stopped himself short, his hands raised in the air like he was going to throttle something. "Anyway…. Stop trying to distract me. I'm telling you. It wasn't a specific dagger that killed the sin eater." He paused, waiting.

"And?" Sam asked.

"It was an iron dagger!" Dean announced. He walked back down the hallway, the three of us following him, and rummaged through our weapons bag. With a triumphant sound, he stood up, brandishing one of our trusty iron daggers.

"Better consecrate it in holy water, just in case," he decided.

"Dean," I said cautiously. "Are you sure about this?"

"Of course!" He said, looking at my dubious face. "Well, like… 95 percent."

"Because you never really watched the end of the movie…" I pointed out to him. I had, because I liked Heath Ledger, but that was beside the point.

"So?"

"Well, the dagger turned the priest into a sin eater before killing the original sin eater," I answered.

Dean hesitated, glancing at Sam and Lisa who were standing next to each other, arms crossed. "Well… like you said, a lot of this movie stuff is nonsense," he said finally, much to my amusement.

"Uh huh," Sam snorted.

"Besides, even if it is true, I'll be fine," Dean said confidently.

"Oh, how do you figure?" Lisa asked.

"Well it's simple really. I'm not a priest!"

Later That Night

IMPALA
Cicero, Indiana

Beth's POV

We'd been circling the city, one block at a time for hours. I stifled a yawn and glanced across at Dean: his jaw set, hands clenching the steering wheel, eyes glued to the world outside our little front seat haven. So many times we'd done this, and it never got old, because so long as we were together, we were happy. But I couldn't help but think about Sam, Lisa and Ben at the movies, enjoying their evening out, while we were obsessing over another monster.

"You know, Sam thinks we can't give up the hunt," I said, rolling my head to the side, and twisting to face Dean. "Says it's because we can't stop looking after him."

Even in the dark I saw his jaw clench, and then apple green eyes turned to look at me. "What do you think?"

I shrugged, letting out a breath. "I don't know. I mean, we were happy in Minnesota, right?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "Yeah we were." His eyes turned back to the road and I saw his chest heave a little as he took a deep breath. "We were happy," this time the comment said under his breath.

"Yet here we are, maybe he's right," I suggested.

The car fell silent, and we went back to looking out the windows for anything unusual, like … ambulances with sin eaters hanging around.

After a few moments, Dean spoke up. "You know I have this theory…" My phone started to vibrate at the same time his voice trailed off. "...son of a bitch!"

The Impala lurched to the side of the road as I answered the call. "Jefferson, not a good time," I said, following Dean's lead and climbing out of the car.

"It can't wait Princess," Jefferson's English accent flowed over the line. I frowned, watching as Dean started to walk toward two men twenty yards away. The familiar figure of the Sin Eater was hunched over a man on the ground, who was holding his stomach and looked as if he'd been stabbed during a mugging.

"Talk to me," I said as Dean continued approaching the men.

"If you're after a sin eater, you'd best stop now," Jefferson got straight to the point.

"Why?"

"First, they are stronger than they look. Second, they take a ridiculous amount of rigmarole to kill," Jefferson said.

"Like what?"

"Like more than I can tell on phone call," he replied.

I looked up at Dean, approaching the shadowy looking sin eater, and his victim. If you could call him that.

"Why would we let him go?" I asked. "Dean thinks it's a demon, or something, pretending to be a sin eater and making deals."

"From what you told me, he might be the real deal," Jefferson replied.

"So you're saying we should let this guy go?" I questioned.

"I'm saying you need to take some time and do more research, before you get hurt," Jefferson answered.

I looked closer at the scene unfolding before me. "I gotta go…" I said into the phone, hanging up and climbing out of the car, hurrying after Dean.

"You should leave me be," the creature was saying to him, "I'm helping people."

The businessman on the ground was fading, I could see the light in his eyes dull even as they spoke.

"Oh yeah?" Dean asked. "You're a real saint. Look no one does anything for nothing - what's your angle?"

"Nothing, this is what I do," he replied.

"Look at this schmuck on the ground," said Dean, gesturing to mugging victim. "Why him?"

"The things he's done to people to get ahead in the world? His children? The maid…" The sin eater looked at the dying man knowingly, who began to cry. "I do it because that's what I was made for."

I looked down at the phone in the hands of the businessman, saw a banking logo and shook my head.

"Money?" I asked. "You do this for money?" I pointed at the phone and the sin eater shrugged, tossing me a grin.

"Man has to make a living," he replied.

I scowled, crossing my arms. "What about the poor?"

"There's always something I can benefit from," was the sin eater's answer.

"Like what?"

"Maybe you should ask your Daddy," said the creature, shocking me to my core. "Oh wait, you can't… they're both dead."

"Why you…" Dean started in for the man, but suddenly he had vanished, right before our eyes.

"What the hell was that?" I asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it didn't sound good." Dean replied, looking down at the man on the ground. He was dead.

All Soul's Day (Nov 2nd)

Motel
Near Cicero, Indiana

Dean's POV

Jefferson had arrived in the morning and taken out the executive suite of the Fairfield Inn for the rest of the week. I was currently leaning over a map of Cicero, marking off all the points that I'd seen the sin eater.

"Here," I said, crossing off the house opposite Lisa's. I marked off the other five points and we quickly had a circumference of about ten miles in diameter.

"Hmmm, good," Jefferson said with a nod. He started to look over the map, scanning it with eagle eyes.

"What are you looking for, man?" I asked, trying to follow his line of sight.

"Sin Eaters belong to one of the oldest denominations there are…" Jefferson muttered, clicking his tongue and then exclaiming with satisfaction before circling a marker in the centre of where all my sightings had been. "There."

I looked down, and Beth joined us, holding one of her father's journals. In the centre of the red circle was a chapel. "St Anthony's" I commented. "Catholic?"

"Of course," Jefferson smirked. "You know any other religion more obsessed with sin than the Vatican's finest?"

"Dad was looking into them too… back around the time he was spending all that time with Pastor Jim," Beth chimed in. "Here, he talks about hunting a sin eater in Pasadena. Him and Pastor Jim, they were investigating if there was a demonic link to the eating of sins."

"And was there?" I asked.

"Doesn't say," Beth replied. "In fact, there's nothing more on it at all."

"That's because they found out that there isn't," Jefferson answered. "They truly do what they say they do. Eat your sins."

"Why?" I asked.

"Who knows?" Jefferson shrugged. "But I do know that Patrick spent a lot of time with this creature, wanting to learn more about the concept of sinning, and going to Hell. Particularly…" he glanced at Beth, who tossed a quizzical look his way. "...particularly in relation to the souls of the possessed."

"Mom…" Beth breathed.

"Indeed. He was concerned that if someone was possessed, the sins of the demon would become the sins of the victim, as it was their body being controlled," Jefferson replied.

I frowned, glancing at Beth who had gone a little pale. She'd been possessed when she'd killed her own father, and all this time no one had thought to question what that did to her soul.

"And?" Beth asked.

"I personally think you can't believe a word out of their mouths. Why wouldn't they lie?" Jefferson replied. "There's got to be something in it for them, but your father never figured out what."

"You didn't answer the question," Beth stated, her voice a little shaky.

"Because I don't have the answers," Jefferson said with a sigh. "That sin eater seemed to think all sin, whether possessed or not was put on the soul of the person."

I reached out, placing my hand at Beth's back. "But?" I asked, there was clearly something he hadn't gotten to.

"But I didn't believe him," Jefferson replied. "Sin is a burden put upon the soul, not the body. If your soul is not in control of your body, how can it be held accountable for the actions of the flesh?"

I nodded in agreement, but Beth looked a little dubious.

"Beth," Jefferson said a little sterner. "I am telling you, he was lying." He lifted her chin to stare defiantly into her eyes until the set of her jaw changed, and she let out a soft breath, nodding softly.

"Okay," I said, breaking the silence. "What now?"

"Now?" Jefferson asked. "Now we kill this thing."

Later That Night

St Anthony's Church Rectory

Jefferson's POV

The sin eater hadn't been hard to find. All Soul's Eve, lots of people wanting to pray for the sins of the dead. What I hadn't told Beth and Dean was that this creature fed on the sins of people, whether they asked for it or not.

It was a creature of darkness.

There was no redemption for those going to Hell, whether this sin eater took the sins or not. I'd already looked into it, when Dean was bound for Hell, thinking it might save him from his contract. Every avenue I'd exhausted around this led to one thing, and one thing only - this was just another creature feeding on the weakness of others. There was no true salvation to be had in its existence.

I looked over the shadowed figure now that Dean had secured it to the table. It hissed at me, when I pulled out Patrick's old bible.

"Priest… you can't hurt me, I am older than time itself," he claimed.

"Oh I doubt that," I commented. "But if so, this is only going to hurt more."

I flipped through the pages of the obsolete bible, one that had been passed down from priest to priest over the centuries. Finally I came to a stop at an exorcism that I hadn't used in quite some time. It pulled the souls of others from the body… kind of a reverse to what we did with demons.

Beth watched curiously as I started to recite the ritual in Latin, moving to look over my shoulder. Dean, ever watchful, stood nearby with the demon killing knife.

On the table, the sin eater started to writhe, and then growl as a green hue poured forth from its mouth. He snapped, and snarled at us, eyes turning yellow and full of contempt.

"What is happening?" Beth asked.

"All the sins he has eaten over the centuries preserves his body," I explained. "Once the life force is taken from him, he will die."

Beth walked up to the creature, and seemed to look down on him with pity.

"Do you seek the Rite of Unction?" She asked, and I paused, wanting to genuinely know.

"I have no sins to confess," the sin eater said. "I carry only the sins of others. Do what you will, it matters little to my final resting place."

I continued to speak the rite, and as I reached the end, a green light flowed upwards and out of the room with a scream.

Before our very eyes the creature slumped back onto to the table, it's skin withered and grey. "Dean, now!" I commanded, and the man swung into action, no hesitation. The blade was forced into the heart of the creature, ending the screams as he choked and then fell inert.

Shortly After

Impala, by St Anthony's Church

Beth's POV

I was staring at the stained glass windows, lit up from within by the mass taking place for All Soul's Night. Every part of my body itched to get in there and join in the prayers for the recently departed - and not just the recently, but everyone I'd ever known who was no longer with us.

When I'd asked him why it was so important that we hunt down and kill this sin eater, Jefferson had been upfront, as he usually was.

"They take advantage of the dying," he replied. "There are no guarantees it even works. I've done a number of sinful things in my life, but nothing would make me pay one of those creatures to take it all away. It's cheating."

"Cheating?" I'd asked.

"I like to think God has a plan for us all," Jefferson confessed. "Even if we don't understand what it is. With all the darkness I've faced in my life, the good I've done, surely it outweighs the sins… and if not, then I am going where I deserve to be, and I'm okay with that."

I looked him over as he stood with Dean by the car. There was a lot to Jefferson we didn't know, he kept to himself, and only shared what he considered necessary. His relationship with the demon Altea, I never asked about - swore on my consecrated rosary that I would never judge him for whatever was going on there - not after the help she gave us in trying to get Dean out of Hell. Not after her help with saving my mother.

"Do you truly believe in God?" I asked finally.

"Absolutely," he replied without hesitation.

"Then where is he?" I questioned.

"He's watching, that much I'm sure of," Jefferson replied. "Chin up princess, the dance isn't over yet."

"What about this Apocalypse then?" Dean asked him. The Englishman had just grinned and leaned against his Plymouth Roadrunner.

"From what I can tell, this is a pissing contest between two angels, and nothing to do with God."

"They still want Dean and Sam for their contest," I pointed out to him.

"We all have our destinies to play. But I highly doubt Dean and Sam's is to destroy each other."

"I wish I had your faith," I said, to which he laughed.

"Princess, your faith pulled a man - this man," he pointed at Dean, "out of Hell. If that's not a miracle, I don't know what 's All Soul's Night. Go pay your respects to the dead, say your prayers, and send love to your parents. They're all in Heaven, I can promise you that, and they didn't need a sin eater to get there."

Dean nodded, stepping up and giving me a little shove toward the church steps. "I'll pick you up in an hour," he said.

With a deep sigh, I took a few steps toward the church and then before I knew it I was inside, crossing myself with holy water and pulling my rosary out from under my shirt. If Jefferson could have faith, after all he'd seen, surely I could have a little of my own.

Later That Night

LISA'S HOUSE
Cicero, Indiana

Dean's POV

There was pie. I knew that much. Lisa had picked it up earlier; while Sam had taken her and Ben to the movies, Jefferson, Beth and I had gone out and killed a sin eater. I was still getting my head around that one.

I slipped out of our dark room, leaving Beth to sleep, and padded barefoot down the stairs to the kitchen. By the glow of the fridge I pulled out the box holding the lemon meringue pie - Beth's favourite - and placed it on the island bench.

A flash of light nearby caught my attention, and I moved, grabbing the wrist that was holding the knife, and slamming it up against the cupboard.

"Ow! Dean! Geez, I was just getting you a knife," Lisa said with a grunt. I let her go, instantly feeling bad.

"Sorry, you shouldn't have snuck up on me," I said.

"I said your name, doofus," she replied. "You were a million miles away staring at that pie."

"Huh," I said, accepting the knife from her, using it to slice a couple of big pieces. Lisa pulled a couple of plates out of the cupboard I'd pushed her up against, and handed them to me.

As I served up our midnight snack, I glanced at her. Long jet black hair, hanging in curls around her shoulders, wearing a simple pair of pyjamas. She waited patiently as I moved, finally taking the offered plate from me.

"So what's on your mind Dean?" She asked, slicing a piece of pie off the end and putting it in her mouth, moving to sit on one of the bar stools at the bench.

I took the one next to her, and settled heavily down upon it, resting my elbows on the counter.

"The usual," I said, not really giving her anything.

"That usually means you're about to run off and do something stupid," she commented, turning those dark eyes to look at me.

I chuckled, thinking about the mess we were all in. "Would you believe it if I said, I'd rather be here, just hanging with you guys?"

Lisa was silent, just the ticking of a clock on the wall to break the quiet.

"Why don't you guys move to town?" She said finally. I munched on pie, thinking about what that would mean. "Maybe you could start over, make a life for you and Beth."

"Yeah, well… much as I'd like to Lis, there won't be much of a world to make a life on, if we don't keep moving."

"There's always some war to fight with you," she sighed. "You know, sometimes I wonder if you don't go looking for it."

I paused, taking that in. There was probably some truth to it. "Well, we're used to the fight, I guess," I said softly. "But, sometimes we dream of a simple life."

"Then take it," Lisa said. "Before it's too late."

"You're too good for us Lis," I commented.

"Tell me you'll think about it," she pressed. "Ben would like you around more."

"He's a good kid, you've done a great job with him," I said, relieved to be able to change the subject.

"Don't change the subject with me, Winchester," she retorted. "You deserve to be happy."

I munched on my pie and frowned a little. Did I? Maybe that was the whole problem.

"Maybe," I said. "And maybe not. I'd done a lot of bad things, Lisa. I'm not sure there's any coming back from them."

"That's ridiculous," she answered. "You guys do a hell of a lot of good, from what Sam tells me."

"Doesn't mean it's gonna outweigh the bad," I countered.

"You guys need a rest," Lisa said, ignoring my comment. "You need a home."

"That's the thing about homes," I said quietly. "They can be taken from you."

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't try," she pushed.

I smiled, nodding my head. She was right, of course. And I had promised Beth we were going to do this. I planned to, I just had to figure out the whole killing the Devil thing first.

"As soon as we kill the Devil, we'll be on your doorstep Lis, that's a promise," I said finally.

"We've all got devils inside us Dean, hopefully you kill yours sooner than later," she said, standing and kissing my cheek. "Get some sleep, huh?"

I nodded, unable to respond. She didn't think I was being literal - which of course, she wouldn't.

I couldn't bring myself to tell her about the Apocalypse that was upon us. I was still hoping I'd never have to.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Song for this chapter is: Down by Jason Walker

This story started out as a little add-in to Changing Channels but by the time I was done with them both, we were looking at 71 pages for everything. So I broke it into two, and this got a little more backstory. Just a little fun piece.

Changing Channels will be up in a few days :)

Hope everyone has had a great start to the New Year!