I want to thank those who have joined me on this three part journey. For those not familiar with them these are: "A Hunter's Vacation", "The Soul Eater" and this title "Soul Searching". This has been a joy to write. I hope that I'll be able to write normal fanfics for Supernatural soon. But until then Enjoy and God Bless you all! -DSCWIN

Chapter 20

It was right after dinner that night that Dean and Lark felt like they needed to head back to Bobby's. Missouri didn't try to change their mind as she smiled and helped them pack up some leftovers in plastic containers and placed them into a large brown bag. While Dean went out to put their bags and food in the car, Lark stayed back in the house to help Missouri with the few dishes that were left from their dinner.

"You shouldn't be afraid, child." Missouri said handing Lark the last plate to be dried off. "When you see her, she's going to be just like she was back in New York."

"It just seemed to easy." Lark said putting the dish in the cupboard and closing the doors. "When has anything been easy for us?"

"This one yes it was easy to get her soul out of there. But it's better then havin' to fight and possibly loosin' your own soul in the processes. That would break Dean to the point nobody would be able to save him. He loves you, but I think you know that."

"But are we really meant to be together? We're so much alike..."

"That may be but that doesn't stop the fact, you two can't stop looking at each other. I had to send him to the library to get him out of the house or he would've sat there holdin' your hand the entire time." Missouri smiled and gently hugged Lark closely. "Give Cassidy a thought."

"Cassidy?" Lark asked confused.

"That child that helped you find Christy's soul. Why else would she come to you of everyone in the world. More importantly why did she appear in front of Dean?" Lark shrugged and looked out the front door seeing Dean was heading towards them but stopped and turned around to head back to the car. "He's nervous. He'll come around in the most spectacular way. Now go be with your friend. She's gonna need her older sister."

~DSCWIN~

"There goes my heart beating
'Cause you are the reason
I'm loosing my sleep
Please come back now..."

Dean slowly increased the volume on the radio liking the music that was playing. Lark, who had fallen asleep in the passenger seat shifted slightly, but didn't wake. The soft music was soothing and Dean couldn't help but hum along trying to listen to the message hidden in the song.

"There goes my mind racing
And you are the reason
That I'm still breathing
I'm hopeless now.

I'd climb every mountain
And swim every ocean
Just to be with you
And fix what I've broken
Oh 'cause I need you to see
You are the reason."

Dean turned off the music trying hard not to hear his own pain emanating through the speakers of the car. He felt as though he was loosing his mind over a woman. A woman he shared nights with. Shared himself with. But he feared her as well. She was someone he couldn't control. Much like his sister who proved time and time again that she was capable of taking care of herself as she had done it for most of her life. But Lark was a whole other ball game entirely. She was like him. Strong and resourceful. Even when there were times where he couldn't control himself.

How can I tame someone if I can't control myself; Dean wondered as he continued to drive sighing with relief when he saw the border of South Dakota.

"Don't deny yourself a chance to be happy." A small voice came from the backseat making Dean swerve and pull off waking up Lark as she was tossed sideways.

"Dean, is everything okay?" Lark asked seeing Dean shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. He had been clearly spooked by something, but she didn't know what.

"Yeah. I'm probably just going crazy." Dean said, chuckling before turning on the radio. The song from earlier was just finishing up with the last few lines.

"I'd climb every mountain
And swim every ocean
Just to be with you
And fix what I've broken
'Cause I need you to see
That you are the reason."

Dean glanced up at Lark and their eyes connected. Something about being with each other brought a spark that seemed to burn deeply in their chests.

"I...I think we should probably get started again Dean." Lark said feeling her cheeks start to burn as they continued to stare deeply in each other's eyes.

Dean broke the connection and looked around, noticing the small darkened police cruiser that had pulled over and stayed put watching to see what Dean would do. But before Dean could turn back onto the street, a car raced past them causing the police cruiser to flip on the lights and race after the offender. Dean thanked his lucky stars as he pulled back onto the interstate, but gave a quick glance in the back seat for any uninvited guest that might be hiding and saw it empty. Lark glanced over her shoulder too wondering what Dean thought might be back there, but didn't say anything. The voice never came back as Dean drove, sending him back into his own thoughts.

~DSCWIN~

Bobby's house was dark and quiet when Dean pulled up. Not even the porch light was on, making Dean glance over at Lark who looked like she would fall asleep just about anywhere.

"You want to find a hotel and come back tomorrow?" he asked putting the car into park. "Or we can sneak in quietly and sleep on the couch."

"I'm okay with what you decide." Lark said too tired to think. Dean chuckled and turned off the car and, out of habit, put the keys into his jacket pocket. The two, as quietly as they could, exited the car, taking only the brown bag of leftovers with them and headed towards the house.

Dean slowly opened the front door not wanting to alert the house full of hunters and an angel. Nothing moved except for Dean and Lark who, after putting the leftovers into the fridge walked to the couch and sunk into the soft fabric as they were too tired to climb the twelve stairs to the upper floor. They both were just wanting sleep after the nightmare they had in the last week or so.

Dean shifted his body so he was sitting at an angle his head barely supported by the back of the couch. Lark shifted her body to take up the small space left her head resting on his chest her head tilted so she could be lulled to sleep by the soft thump of his heart.

~DSCWIN~

The sizzling of food cooking in the kitchen stirred Lark from her most comfortable sleep. Lark could hear someone humming along with a silent song. With a tender look at Dean ,who looked more comical then the night before as his mouth was open and a thin river a of drool gradually fell down his cheek and soaked into the couch, Lark chuckled and she gently kissed his cheek.

"Well I caught my wife with another man, and it cost me ninety-nine." The voice was high and preppy making Lark stand up trying not to disturb Dean too much. "On a prison farm in Georgia close to the Florida line. Well I've been here for two long years, I finally made the warden my friend. So he sentenced me to a life of ease taking care of ol' Red." Lark rounded the corner and smiled as she saw Christina swinging her head back and forth while bouncing from one food to another and doing exaggerated dance moves. She had her ear-beads on while her Ipod was strapped to her arm as if she was about to go for a run or came back from one. "Ol' Red is the damnest dog. That I've ever seen. Got a nose that can smell a two day trail he's a four legged tracking machine. You can consider yourself mighty lucky to get past the gators and the quicksand beds. But in all my years that I've been here, ain't nobody got past Red."

Christina turned around and smiled blushing slightly as she pulled the ear buds out of her ears before pausing her song.

"You seemed to be in a better mood." Lark said wrapping her arms around Christina and holding her tightly. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better. According to Sam I slept for twenty hours, woke up got dressed went for a run with Sam down the lane about three miles and back. He went up to take a shower while I decided to make breakfast." A buzzer sounded and Christina spun around and grabbing some hot pads reached into the oven and pulled a pan of orange rolls bubbling and looking extremely gooey.

"Wow. Do you think we have enough food?" Lark joked seeing the piles of Waffles, pancakes, orange rolls, scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, sausage links and crispy bacon.

"Nope. I know Dean and Sam. They'll eat a pile of these by itself. But I made sure there was plenty. And if you're gonna be heading out I didn't want you leaving on an empty stomach. Plus this is a major apology to everyone for the stress I had to put you all through these last few weeks."

"Well, thanks...but I think I'll skip breakfast. Got in pretty late last night. Not really hungry."

"Okay." Christina said spinning around grabbing some murky white glaze and began to drizzle over the orange rolls. Lark could see the glaze cascade over the edge and into every crevice. "I made sure there'll be plenty of food for everyone. I guess maybe because of the events that happened I didn't want to deny myself the simple pleasures of life. Oh...morning Dean."

Dean stood barely awake but it quickly changed when he saw the food and smelt the fresh coffee. But he smiled most at his sister, acting just like she was before all of this happened.

"Wow, I think Bobby will try and keep you here at home." Dean said walking up and pulling his sister into a warm hug. "Please tell me you're better."

Christina chuckled as she slapped at Deans hand as he reached for an orange roll. "I'm just fine." she said gently pushing him away. "But these are for breakfast."

"Where's Bobby? Shouldn't he be up by now?"

"He left yesterday afternoon. Had to help a fellow hunter in Memphis. Won't be back for a few days. But I promise I'll leave him something." Christina smiled and grabbed some plates that were in the dish strainer and began to place them around the table. "Come and eat, while it's still hot."

"Where's Sam?" Dean asked licking his lips and sitting down.

"Coming down the stairs." Christina said starting to set food, dressings, mugs and coffee on the table. "Alright. Dig in!"

~DSCWIN~

Lark let out a loud moan of pleasure as she stood underneath the hot water feeling stress and worry get pulled out of her body and down the drain. It had been a nightmare; she thought grabbing some of Christina's shampoo and massaged it into her scalp. Now I need to do one last thing, talk to Dean about us.

She shivered slightly as she felt the door swing open in the bathroom. "Hello?" she said turning her back on the guest grabbing a loofah on a stick to defend herself.

"Lark, I need to talk to you and it can't wait." Dean's voice was rushed and Lark felt her cheeks heat up.

"Dean, give me just a few more minutes and let me wash out my hair."

"Sure. Just meet me back in the kitchen when you're ready to talk."

"Okay." Lark chuckled as she heard Dean leaving the room allowing her to finish her shower and allowed her to step out of the bathroom to quickly bounce to her room next door to his to change.

~DSCWIN~

"Are you sure about this, Dean?" Christina asked when Lark made her way downstairs wearing some jeans and a tee shirt.

"Yeah...I never felt so sure in my life...I just hope she understands." Dean said his voice shaky and nervous.

"Well, I can just say if things go downhill don't blame me." Christina left the room and smiled at Lark.

Lark watched as Christina walked up the stairs quickly taking two steps at a time and disappeared into the bathroom. As Lark walked into kitchen she saw Dean leaning up against the counter one arm across his chest while his other hand covered his eyes as if he was having a discussion he wasn't ready for.

"Dean?" Lark said gently making Dean snap his attention and she could see his face pale before his cheeks began to glow a soft rose color. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." Dean took a deep breath and quickly reached out and grabbed both her hands. "Lark I've been thinking about something since I listened to that song from the night before."

"Okay, and?"

"Lark I want us to try and work this out. I want to be beside you. But I don't want you to think I'm doing this just to control you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out something small in his large fingers. "But I want to shoot for something." He slowly fell to one knee and Lark took in a sharp breath one hand covering her mouth in shock as tears began to fill her eyes. "Lark, I'd climb every mountain and swim every ocean. Just to be near you and fix what I've broken. I just need you to see you are the reason."

Lark felt tears falling down her cheeks as she saw that he was indeed holding a ring in his fingers. "...Dean?" Lark's voice cracked as he gently rubbed his thumb over her skin on the back of her hand. Her voice was lost to her. She couldn't believe what was happening and she gently pulled her hand out of his. "I...I don't know..." Dean stayed on his knees in shock as she turned and left the house. He listened as she ran across the gravel before the sound of her Charger screaming out of the parking lot. Dean was still on his knees when Christina and Sam came in.

"She...she left." Dean said his eyes starting to mist over with tears. "I guess I scared her away." Both Sam and Christina rushed to their brother and wrapped their arms around him. Dean was still in shock as he kept the ring held up. He stood there just for a minute before running out of the house.

"Where are you going?" Sam called chasing after him.

"She didn't say no or yes. I want to have her give me a straight answer." Dean hopped into his Impala and pulled out.

Sam turned to look at Christina who smiled and shook her head. "But we have to be there for him."

"No, Sam, we don't." She smiled and wrapped her arms around Sam and leaned up against her brother feeling his arms wrap around her. "Dean will be okay. Besides...He took the only drive able vehicle. My truck is being borrowed by a fellow hunter while Bobby took the keys to my motorcycle for some weird reason."

Sam nodded slowly and the both walked back into the house to get dinner started and to wait for Lark's answer to Dean's question.

~DSCWIN~

Lark was pulled off the side of the road. Wanting to sit and think without causing too much suspicion as she sat there.

What was he thinking; Lark wondered covering her face with her hands completely shocked by what Dean had just done. We only been...close to one another for only mere months. I still don't know anything about him!

"You shouldn't deny what your heart wants." Cassidy's voice came from Lark's passenger seat. As Lark turned her head in surprise by the presence of the little girl. "You know you love him. You saw it yourself your soul wanted to be with him."

"But...but I'm not ready to get involved with anyone." Lark felt the words repeat in her head as she said them. She remembered back when she said the same thing to Christina back in New York before all the chaos started.

Cassidy started to laugh, a laugh that sounded like a bell gently tinkling all around her. "I remember you telling me that. You even said 'If he didn't show up when he did I would have driven off and never spoken to him for years.'"

Lark sat confused as the thought had crossed her mind just then. "Are you saying I told you this story?"

Cassidy smiled and nodded. "You told me all kinds of stories. About all your adventures before I came into the world and after when I was born." She smiled brightly at Lark who felt something warm spread through her. "Don't worry, mommy..." Lark's face paled. "You won't remember me for several years after this encounter. But I will be in your dreams." Cassidy stood up on her passenger seat and wrapped her arms around Lark's neck.

She feels so real; Lark thought as gradually Cassidy's arms faded away. She was staring at the emptiness of her car when she heard the familiar purr of the Impala. He's here...just as she said he would.

Lark quickly exited her car when Dean himself jumped out of his car. Dean looked at her as they stared keeping distance before Lark ran to him and leapt into his arms. She was indeed fighting to keep the feelings she had from surfacing as she kissed him deeply. Dean held her close returning the kiss before gently placing her on the ground.

"Yes, Dean..." Lark said as tears began to fall. "I'm sorry for leaving like that...I was just taken by surprise."

"No need to explain, Lark." Dean said with a goofy side smile that drove her crazy. "I do understand that I threw it on you. But...I was wanting to do this to someone someday...I'm glad it's going to be you."

Lark smiled and kissed him again before looking down at her hand as Dean slid the ring over her finger. It wasn't anything fancy. No large diamond that both knew would cause more problems on hunts. But there was a tiny blood red stone with something etched delicately inside. It was the anti-possession tattoo she had seen on Dean, Sam and even Christina's bodies. "Where did you...?"

"I knew a guy who owed me." Dean said with a smile. "Now you'll be protected. Even if things go bad for us, this will protect you from any harm. Because a storm is coming...a lot bigger then you and me and the family. This little adventure we had with Christy is going to be just a minor hurdle. I don't want to keep you here if you're not ready for what's to come."

"What's to come that would cause you to say that?" Lark asked.

"The end of the world. We let Lucifer loose a while ago...it's going to get pretty ugly...but I'm willing to fight for us if I have to."

Lark smiled hearing the genuine remark and gently kissed Dean. "If that's the case...I'll stand beside you."

~DSCWIN~

Sam and Christina sat on the front porch sipping at glasses of sweet tea when they saw both Lark's and Dean's car pull up the drive. Sam glanced over at his sister and saw a smirk spreading across his face as she continued to quietly sip.

"She said yes." she said after her drink.

"What makes you think that?" Sam inquired as Dean and Lark walked back to the porch laughing and talking quietly among themselves.

"Because she's here with Dean...plus I can see the ring on her finger." Sam watched as Christina ran down and hugged Lark tightly then hugged Dean. "Well, congrats you two. Now let's go inside and eat up some spare ribs?"

"You read my mind." Dean said smacking his lips in anticipation making Lark chuckled.

"Welcome to the family Lark." Sam said as they headed inside and he saw the ring. "You know this isn't carved in stone."

"I know." Lark said with a smile watching as Dean worked on helping his sister with the food. "But I promised myself I wouldn't deny myself some happiness."

As the group of hunters sat around the table enjoying the food and company a small child peered into the window undetected by any of the four hunters. The child's ruffled white dress gradually began to vanish as she too vanished into the air. The last thing to disappear was a long slender smile and the words, "Thank you mommy."

THE END