Chapter 7

Dean PoV

Bella is in my arms, sleeping peacefully while I watch the sunlight move across the room changing from a deep orange to a bright yellow as it rises over the trees in Bobby's backyard. We kissed. A lot. I had no idea if she looked to me as a big brother or if she was attracted to me. She's so damn hard to read. But then she asked me to kiss her, and I knew for sure. It's Sammy she sees as a big brother, definitely not me. Though, I can't figure out why. Sammy is closer to her age, he's handsome, a good hunter, a good protector, he's got the book smarts like she does. I can't figure why she'd want a bum like me.

But then again, maybe I shouldn't be looking a gift horse in the mouth. If she wants me, I should be happy, not questioning why, right? As she snores adorably, curled up against me, I recap the moment before she asked me to kiss her.

We'd been strolling through the neighborhood and came upon a park. For some reason, I felt almost like a kid again and offered to push her on the swing. It was so innocent and sweet, far cry from my normal behavior. And then she gazed up at me with those deep chocolate eyes and told me to kiss her. I didn't even hesitate a split second before attacking her with my lips. In seconds we were a mash of tongues lips and hands in hair. And when she started scratching my neck, I nearly lost it.

And then the heavy makeout session in this very bed. Dear god this woman will be a sex goddess once we get there. She says she's inexperienced and doesn't have a clue what she's doing, but I beg to differ. She knows exactly where to touch me to drive me wild. When she hitched her leg over my hip, it drove me insane. Now, with those images in my mind, Winchester Jr is making himself known again and I'd rather not have Remi feel it against her hip at this hour. But I'm too late.

"Why Dean Winchester, is that a banana in your pocket?" she teases, giggling against my chest.

"Yeah, sorry… tends to happen when there's a sexy lady laying next to me," I whisper. "So Remi, whaddya say to a quick breakfast and then you show me your true skills with a gun."

"Sounds good to me," she replies, kissing me lightly before sliding away from me and standing up. The shirt of mine that she stole has ridden up giving me a glimpse of her ass in her boyshorts. Holy hell she's sexy. She grabs some clothes and scampers out of the room to change. I throw on the first items of clothing I can find and head downstairs.

Sammy is already up and drinking a cup of coffee. He gestures to the counter where there are a few more cleaned mugs and a fresh pot all finished brewing. "How long have you been up?" I ask.

"Not long, maybe an hour. Went for a run," he answers. Ah yes, Sam Winchester, Jogger Extraordinaire. "Where's Remi?"

"Getting ready in the bathroom," I answer. "I told her I'd like to see how she is with a gun."

He nods. "Bobby's outside setting up some targets, actually. He figured we'd want to start training her right away." Good going Bob-o.

Remi comes bouncing down the stairs, surprisingly light on her feet for how clumsy she says she is. Though she did say she hasn't had a graceless moment since she met me. That boosted my ego a bit, I must say.

"Mornin' Sammy!" she greets, kissing his cheek. "Mm, is that fresh coffee I smell?" Sammy grins and nods, pointing her in the direction of said java. "Dean, want a cup?" I nod and thank her before sitting down at the table.

"Whatcha got, Sam?" I ask, glancing at the pile of books he's got next to his laptop. He's been up only an hour, but how late did he stay up? I wonder.

"Well, I was trying to find some info on the knights of hell, but so far I've come up with bupkis. There's not a single mention of them other than the archangels smiting them ages ago. "

"Where's Henry?" Bella asks. "Have you already seen him up this morning, Sam?"

"No, I figured he was still asleep."

Bella shakes her head. "The door to his room is open and his bed is made. So either he never slept, or he's already up." The three of us immediately think the worst and scramble up the stairs to his vacated bedroom. On the bedside table is a box with a note on top. "Want me to read it?" she offers. I nod and hand her the note.

"Dean, Sam, and Miss Bella," she reads aloud. "I am sorry to have offended what you do; what you are. I spoke with Mr. Singer more at length and learned what all you have done and what you have lost. I couldn't be more proud of you, nor more sorry that I never got to truly be a grandfather to you, or a father to John. However, you are my grandsons and therefore men of letters. That alone grants you access to the stores of information located in Lebanon, Kansas. In this box lies the key to that very place. Find it, use the information, and continue your work of saving lives.

I am going after Abaddon. Mr. Singer discovered some demonic omens nearby that tell me that Abaddon followed me into this time. She must be stopped. Miss Bella, I will do my best to not kill your great-grandmother… that is if Abaddon has not already done so. Clearly it is my destiny to die during this trip to the future. I don't belong in this time, but I also can't go home. This informs me that my time is limited, and I understand that.

Keep doing your good work, I wish you all the best.

H. Winchester"

She hands me the note, looking down at the box on the table. I see a tear fall down her cheek; I wasn't aware she was even upset. "What's wrong, Remi?" I wipe the tear from her face.

"Sorry, it's just so obvious that he's accepting his fate. He knows that he dies in this crusade and he's okay with it. It's really, really sad. I wish there was something we could do, but I… I know there isn't."

"Are you idjits still asleep?" we hear Bobby's voice call out. He passes the room before realizing we're here and backs up. "What are you doing in here? Where's Henry?"

"Gone," I answer, handing him the note. He reads it quickly, frowns, and hands it back. I fold it up and put it in my pocket.

"Well, that settles that, I guess. What's the game plan?" Bobby asks.

I look at Remi before answering. "First, we need to see how Remi is with a gun. Show her a few more things, too. We'll keep an eye on this Abaddon situation as best we can. But, I think we should honor his wishes, so to speak."

Everyone nods and files out of the room. We head into the yard where Bobby has set up a table with several guns and knives on it. Across the yard are a few targets set up, including paper targets, beer cans, and bags of sand swinging from ropes. Those are to test her abilities on moving targets, which is the bulk of our work anyway. Monsters tend not to stand still when they're being hunted by people with guns. Remi walks confidently over to the table and picks up the closest handgun, inspecting it thoroughly.

"Remi, what are you doing?" Sam asks. Now she's taking it apart.

"Guns are not toys," she answers. "I'm not the one who last put this gun together. No offense, Bobby, but my dad taught me to never fire a gun that I haven't taken apart and put back together myself. If I do it wrong, it's on me if it misfires. If I don't do this and it misfires, Bobby will feel horrible and I'll feel foolish for not checking it out first. I'm sure it's been done correctly, I'm not doubting anyone's skills here, but when it comes to firearms, I take no chances."

"That's good, Remi," Bobby says, offering her a small smile. "Your daddy taught you well." She nods and thanks him before checking the sights and aiming the gun at one of the targets. After taking a deep breath, she fires the gun, emptying the clip in rapid succession. I watch, unbelievably turned on as she's hit every target right on. All six paper targets have a bullseye, and she's hit every single beer can.

We all stare at her slack-jawed. She simply shrugs. "I told you I could shoot straight. Moving targets and being under pressure of a hunt I'm sure will affect my abilities. Which is why we're here, right?" All I can do is nod. "Okay then, so now the bags of sand. I assume you're going to set them a-swinging and I'm supposed to try shooting them?" I nod again. "Okay, so let's do it then. Or do you want me to practice throwing knives. Do you do that often?"

"Not really, no. Monsters tend to like getting up close and personal when we kill them," Sam answers. "Though maybe we should all work on that. Might save us some stitches."

"Yeah, but if you have a bad throw, or whatever metal you use doesn't kill it, now the monster has a weapon," Bobby adds. Fair point.

"Okay, so silver knives for shifters, iron for ghosts, and blades dipped in dead man's blood for vamps would be a start though, right? I mean it would incapacitate them for long enough that you could then deliver the killing blow however that would need to be done," Remi retorts.

She's making a lot of sense. I knew she would be a hell of a hunter. First day of training and she's already thinking of things we've never even tried, and we've been at this our whole lives. She's staring at me, a confused expression on her face. "You're a genius, Remi. I'm… very impressed," I whisper.

"Really? Those… those are good ideas?" I nod and pull her into my arms. She wraps hers around my neck and stretches up on her tiptoes to kiss me. It's light and sweet, but I can feel she's happy. Happy with me, happy here with our little dysfunctional family.

"They're great ideas," I say, pulling away from her lips. "You're a natural." She beams at me before turning back to the table of weapons. She picks up another hand gun and motions to Bobby to release the sand bags. He pulls the lever on the contraption he built and one of the sand bags starts swinging around. She shoots at it a few times, finally hitting it after six or seven shots.

"Okay, I think I get the logistics of it now. Drop another one." Bobby does and she hits it with the first shot. Same for the next three bags. Sand is piling up on the ground and we're all staring at her completely in awe. She's incredible.

"I've never shot one of these," she says, running her finger along the barrel of a rifle after she's done with the handgun. Of course my dirty mind fills with ideas of her running her tiny fingers along something else. "Can I try it now?" I nod and she grins happily. I show her how to take it apart and put it back together, so she feels safe with it, then I show her how to load the ammo.

It's a 50-caliber, so the kickback will be intense. "Have you shot a gun of this caliber before?" I ask.

"Nothing over a 45," she answers, shaking her head. "The kick is gonna be big, isn't it?" I smirk and nod. She knows her stuff. She holds up the rifle, butting it up against her shoulder. I watch as she takes a deep breath and aims at one of the paper targets. Bam! She fires, and I notice that she's fallen down from the kick. "Wow, that was big," she comments, rubbing her shoulder.

"Bella, are you okay?" She takes a deep breath, aims the gun and fires. Then she immediately falls to the ground, not ready for the kick. "Whoa," she gasps.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she replies, grabbing her shoulder. "That's gonna bruise," she murmurs. "I'm fine," she adds, taking my hand to help her up. "I just wasn't expecting that. I mean I was, but I wasn't. Did I even hit the target?" We both look over and see she did indeed hit a target, but not the one she was aiming at, and definitely not in the center. "Wow, ok, need to work on that one."

"Accuracy isn't as important when you're shooting rock salt bullets," Bobby tells her. "Hit a Ghost with that, it'll send 'em off for a few, even if you don't take off their head or hit 'em square in the chest." Bella nods at Bobby's words and turns back to the gun.

"I think I'll stick with what I know for now, is that alright?" she asks. I nod and gesture for her to continue. She picks up the next few hand guns, and in a quick, praticed routine, she takes them apart, puts them together, checks the sights and empties the clips. She's pretty damn good with all of them, except for the bigger ones. It's like she's afraid of them.

I haven't realized the time, but I do notice my stomach starting to growl. A glance at my watch tells me we missed lunch and dinner time is fast-approaching. "Well, I dunno about you guys, but I'm starved," Bella states as she sets down the last gun. "Let's go get some grub, Sammy. Bobby, how do you like your steaks?" I ask. He blinks back, surprised. "Lemme guess, rare to medium rare?"

"Uh, yeah sure. Thanks Remi," Bobby answers, not hiding his surprise. I grab my coat and before I can put it on, Bella has fished the keys out of my pocket.

"Sammy and I will go," she says, winking at me. Um okay, whatever that is about. She tosses the keys to him. He shrugs but heads towards the Impala anyway. I frown at her but she merely smirks at me and blows me a kiss. She's up to something…

Remi/Bella PoV

In the car, Sammy looks at me curiously. "So what happened on that walk with Dean?" he asks. "I take it things went well? I mean you and he were all smiles this morning before we discovered Henry had left. I'm surprised you wanted to go shopping with me. Why not take the opportunity for more one-on-one time with Dean? Goodness knows you won't get much of it in this business."

"I actually wanted to ask you something about him," I say. He purses his lips at me. "Look, I promise I won't always come running to you when he does something weird, but right now I just have a question."

"Alright, Rem. What's your question?" Rem, I like that one, too.

"So, as I'm sure you're aware, I listened to your advice and kissed Dean," I begin. "Or rather, told him to kiss me. Anyway, I know you don't want the details. But when we decided to stop kissing and come back to Bobby's his expression went from well… "

"Lemme guess," Sam interjects. "He went from looking like he wanted to tear your clothes off to professional, back to business in the blink of an eye."

"Yeah, exactly. I was still gathering my wits and he was ready and raring to go back to work or something. And when we got back to the house, he was completely composed and I was a wreck. Then in the bedroom he was all 'you're driving me nuts.' It's like he does a complete turn around multiple times while I'm still reeling from the kiss."

Sammy laughs. "First of all, Dean's older and more experienced, Remi. I don't mean this as an insult, but you're clearly very innocent in that area. Of course it's gonna be harder for you to compose yourself after doing anything… Plus, Dean's 180 is a coping mechanism. Which he needs to work on.

"Dean doesn't like to talk. Whenever some horrible thing has happened to either of us, he never wants to talk it out. He bottles it up, pushes it away and gets back to business. Prepare for him to do the same to you. Sometimes I have to literally beat his feelings out of him. And I'm sure these words are pointless but I have to say them because I'm his brother. Don't hurt him. He's been burned before, literally and figuratively, and I hate to see him like that. So please… don't break his heart."

I shake my head. "I couldn't," I reply. "I am actually amazed at how well I broke things off with Edward. Maybe it's because I knew it was all a lie and it fueled my esteem, but normally I'm the suffer in silence type. I wouldn't be the one to do the breaking but wait for him to do it. I have no intention of breaking his heart. Not that you need to know this, but there was more passion and emotion in that first kiss with Dean then there was in my entire relationship with Edward. And we were together for over a year.

"This is still so new to me and I'm learning how to be a person again in addition to learning how to hunt monsters. I'm sure Dean and I will have struggles, arguments, disagreements and so forth, it wouldn't be a relationship without that. But I know it when I say that I will never break his heart. I already care for him too much to do that. Same for you, Sammy. You're like the big brother I never had, but kinda always wanted. I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

He chuckles. "Honestly, Rem. I wouldn't have it any other way. Same for Dean, though I know he's ecstatic that you don't see him as a big brother. Hell, even Bobby's warming up to you and he doesn't like people."

"Bobby has a grill, right? I thought a saw an old barrel grill on the porch."

"Yeah, we'll pick up some charcoal for it," Sam adds. "Anything else to go with the steaks?"

I nod. "I was thinking hobo bags." He glances at me confused. "You cut up potatoes, onions, carrots and garlic and put them in a tin foil 'bag' with butter, salt and pepper. Then you put them on the grill to cook. Takes about an hour, like a baked potato, but they're cooked to perfection and have a bit of that 'just grilled' flavor. Hey corn is in season. We could have grilled corn on the cob, too."

"Sounds great, Rem. Were you really serious about cooking for us when you can?"

"Absolutely," I confirm. "I love cooking. Maybe if I hadn't ever been acquainted with the supernatural I'd have gone to culinary school. Or maybe not. I think I was destined to be part of this life. Thankfully not as a monster, or I might have met you guys in not-so-good circumstances. Lots of what ifs and maybes, and I've had my share of drama, but I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Really? You wouldn't go back if you could to save yourself from the heartbreak when Edward left you, or completely avoid meeting him and his family altogether?"

Shaking my head, I reply, "Not a second of it. I've been hurt emotionally and physically as a result of knowing that coven, but I still wouldn't trade a second of it. It led me to you guys. I feel like this is the path I am supposed to be on. I mentioned this to Dean yesterday, but I haven't had a single clumsy or graceless moment since I met you two. I used to trip over my own two feet for no reason. There'd be nothing but smooth floor, but I would invariably find something to stumble over. But not anymore. I'm beginning to find myself, my true self, and I wouldn't trade that for anything."

We pull up at the grocery store and grab a cart on our way in. Seeing Sammy push a cart is about the weirdest thing I've ever seen. He just looks all wrong. I remember bringing Edward along with me when I would stock Charlie's kitchen. He looked equally out of place, but in different ways. He avoided everything as if it would bite him and wrinkled his nose at all the raw meat. "It's already rotting," he'd say. "How can you stand to eat it?" I'd shrug and move on, trying not to take his disdain for human things to heart.

As we're browsing through the produce, Sam starts laughing. "What's so funny?" I ask.

"I cannot remember the last time I was in a grocery store. In fact, I don't think that I ever have. I mean I might have run in to grab a six pack of beer or a bag of salt, but have never once perused the aisles with the intention of cooking a meal. Thanks, Remi. I guess I feel more normal with you around. And trust me, that's rare, but a very good thing."

I simply smile in return and head further down the aisle. I see the ears of corn and begin pulling back the husks and poking the kernels to see if they're good or not. "What are you doing?"

"If the juice squirts out, it's a good ear," I offer by way of explanation. He grabs a bag to put the ears in and I toss in the ones that met my requirements. We then move on and get a bag of potatoes, carrots, onions, and a sack of garlic bulbs. I also grab a few granny smith apples for the pie. "Do you think we should get a salad?" I ask, pointing at the bags of lettuce.

"If you plan on only you and me eating it," Sammy answers. Oh yeah, Dean doesn't do green food. And apparently Bobby doesn't either. I'll have to work on incorporating some healthy foods into Dean's diet. If we're together I can suggest that, right?

We then move onto the butcher section and I gaze at the variety of meat cuts available. Being in South Dakota, cattle is everywhere, so the meat is locally sourced and at good prices. I decide to splurge on some ribeye that's nice and thick and has good marbling. The butcher wraps it up for me and I place it in the cart. Sammy meanwhile is staring at the cakes in the bakery section. "It didn't occur to me until just now, but Dean's birthday is coming up in a couple days. Do you… do you wanna get him a cake? Or have a party? We've never really done birthday parties."

I smile and giggle at Sammy. He seems so childlike right now. I can tell that he and his brother had messed up nearly non-existent childhoods. I did too, but for completely different reasons. "Let's bake him a cake. We can do it together. I need to get pie ingredients anyway."

He starts to scoff but then smiles really big. "I've never made a cake. There are far too many things I've never done. Like super normal things. Birthday parties, grocery shopping, I mean… our childhood was pretty much shit. Dean did what he could to help me feel normal, but we were in a different school every month for years, we lived in hotels, our dad was off on hunts for days at a time until we were old enough to go with him, we had zero friends, all we had was each other. Yeah, we made it work, but at what cost?"

I put my arm on his. I'd like to put it on his shoulder in comfort, but his shoulder is just too far above me to reach. He's not as tall as Emmett or the wolves in La Push, but he's tall enough that it's almost offensive. "For what it's worth, my childhood consisted of me taking care of my mom, who can't take care of herself. Granted, I didn't deal with monsters until I was seventeen, but I think we can make the best of our situations and move on." Sammy smiles and nods at me, though I can tell he's still upset, but doesn't want to talk it out anymore. Making a stop in the baking aisle, I get the ingredients to make a nice cake and a pie for Dean from scratch. Sammy picks out the frosting and we then head to the checkout.

Before I can pull any cash out of my wallet, Sam throws down a credit card. The name Johnny Walker is seen before he swipes it across the machine. I narrow my eyes at him, but he merely winks at me. I should be used to this by now, Edward did it enough times. "You two are so cute together," the cashier comments.

"Thanks, but she's my sister," Sammy says. Hearing him say I'm his sister to someone other than Dean or Bobby has my heart all melty in my chest. As we're walking away with our purchases, he adds, "Man it's gonna be weird if we ever have to explain that you're my sister but not Dean's and are in fact with him. Then again… stranger things have happened in our world.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Edward calls all his family siblings or parents. But then Emmett and Rosalie are together. As are Alice and Jasper. So it's like they're both siblings and husband and wife in a couple cases. At school, too, they never bothered to hide their relationship even when it garnered a ton of gossip and rumours. I suppose when you're at the top of the food chain, stuff like that doesn't really matter."

Sammy shrugs and nods. We pack the groceries into the backseat, since the trunk is apparently full of weapons, Sammy told me, and head back to Bobby's. I note that all the guns and knives have been cleaned up and on the table is a checkered table cloth and a vase with fresh wildflowers in it. "What's this?" I ask, getting out of the car. Sammy hands me a couple grocery bags and has the cake ingredients in another that he's trying to subtly shield from Dean.

"You said you were cooking," Dean says as he carries plates and silverware out. "It's a nice night, I thought we could eat out here."

"You mean like a family dinner?" Sam asks, his face lighting up. Dean nods in return, his expression equally bright. Wow, just a simple meal together is having these guys happy as clams. Who knew they'd be so easy to please? Bobby appears then with a pitcher of tea in hand. "Well, we gonna git these steaks on the grill or what?"

"Right, that… Dean, you're on shucking duty," I say handing him the sack of corn. "Sammy, bring those other things in the house. Bobby, I'll get the hobo bags ready if you wanna prepare the meat?"

Bobby nods and takes the paper wrapped steaks from my hands. I head into the kitchen and start washing the potatoes and carrots. Dean appears and takes a few potatoes out of the bowl to help. No way he's done shucking corn. "How'd shopping go?" he asks.

"Good, Sammy and I bonded over our decision to not get salad since only he and I would eat it," I tease. Dean chuckles. "Is there a metal bowl around anywhere?" I ask, looking through the cupboards. Dean finds one and hands it to me. I then grab a metal lid from a pot and throw a bunch of garlic cloves in it as I'm pulling apart the bulbs.

"Don't you have to peel off the skins of those?" Dean asks. I nod before placing the lid on the bowl and shaking it. After a couple minutes of shaking, I take the lid off, revealing the now naked cloves of garlic among the shreds of garlic skins. "Magic!" he declares, throwing his arms in the air.

"Alright, out with you," I say, shoving him out of the kitchen. "You've got corn to shuck! Don't pull the husks off, though. Just peel them back and then get all the silks off. Then bring them to me." He doesn't reply, just steps forward and pulls me into his arms. Then his lips are on mine, kissing me soundly. "You need to get out and let me cook," I say against his lips. He smiles sheepishly, but steals one last peck and leaves the room so I can finish preparing.

Once I'm done with the hobo bags, I carry them out to the grill. Bobby is busy cleaning off the grate and has the steaks on a pan, covered in plastic wrap. I glance at them and note he's put some special marinade on them. A small whiff tells me they'll be just fantastic. "All ready for your hobo thingers," he says, standing aside.

"Hobo bags, at least that's what we always called them," I reply as I place them on the grill. "These'll take about an hour to cook, so we'll put the corn and steaks on not long before they're done." He nods and replaces the cover on the grill. Meanwhile I go check on Dean's corn shucking progress. I get to the table to see a pile of unshucked corn, minus two ears. A sound to my right indicates foul play and I run to the other side of the house only to see Dean and Sam engaged in an epic duel to the death, each wielding a shucked ear of corn. I want to yell at them for ruining the corn, but we got a dozen ears, so there's plenty. I hate to ruin their fun.

Back at the table, I take over shucking corn getting them all ready before the boys have even thought of finishing their duel. "Where're those idjits?" Bobby asks.

I point with an ear of corn in the guys' general direction. "Fighting to the death with corn swords," I reply. Once I'm done with the corn I pull the husks back up over the cobs and carry them back inside so I can let them soak. Then I move on to the apples, washing, peeling and coring them. I then coat them with a sugar cinnamon mixture and let them sit while I get the crust ready.

Dean and Sammy come inside and try to hand me their mangled corn cobs. "I don't want those. What ever am I supposed to do with that? They barely have five kernels left between them. You're wearing the rest. Throw those away, go shower and get back down here. We're about ready to put the steaks on." I'm finishing up the pie crust and putting the pie together.

I put the pie in the oven and set the timer knowing it'll take until we're about done eating to bake. Sammy helps by taking the now soaked corn to the grill. Dean comes down shortly after Sam with no shirt on. Well his shirt is in his hand, but I know for a fact he hasn't put it on yet on purpose. Dear god that man is nice to look at. I'm standing in the kitchen holding a pair of tongs and I can't move. "See something you like?" he teases. As he gets closer, I can see little beads of water all over his chest. Oh lord, kill me now.

Slowly, he walks over to me, his eyes riveted on mine. My eyes keep moving between his and his lips, and his wet chest. Oh how I want to lick the water off his chest. "I thought we were having yummy steaks, Remi. You look like you want to eat me." He has no idea how true that statement is. I can just picture myself licking and biting him while we... okay, need to change my train of thought or dinner will never happen. "How about we settle for a kiss," he adds leaning in to capture my lips. I instinctively run my fingers along his bare chest, the water droplets disappearing beneath my palms. I wind my fingers into his wet hair and pull him close to me. I barely register the sound of the tongs I'd been holding clanging on the floor. Oh well, I'll just rinse 'em quick before going out to put the steaks on. His fingers snake around my waist and hold me tight. "You'll be the death of me, woman," he whispers.

"Yes, death of starvation," Sammy says as he pops his head in. "Remi, we're ready to put the steaks on. Mind breaking it up?" I think I hear him grumble about washing his brain out with soap. Dean picks up the tongs I'd carelessly dropped and cleans them off in the sink. I take them from him and head out to the grill. Bobby peels the plastic wrap off the meat and I place them on the grill and turn the corn so it cooks evenly. The hobo bags are starting to blacken on the bottom, so I know the goodies inside are nearly done. Everything is timed perfectly.

I giggle to myself at the thought that my mother would never be able to pull off this meal. Steak and potatoes with corn on the cob seems fairly simple, but my mother could burn water. Before long everything is cooked to perfection. Sammy helps by bringing the plates over from the table. I place a hobo bag, ear of corn, and a steak on each plate. Soon we're all at the table, sipping tea or beer, and eating one of the best meals I've made in a while. Maybe it's the surroundings or the company, but I can tell that I have never in my life been happier than I am at this very moment.

"Just wait until you try the pie," I say as Dean moans around a mouthful of food.

"Pie! You made a pie?!" He hollers.

"I told you I would. It's baking right now." I glance at my watch. "Should be ready soon. We even bought ice cream in case you want it a la mode." His face splits in a huge grin. I could die happy seeing that grin every day.

We finish up our meals and I go inside to take the pie out of the oven. The crust is perfectly golden brown and the apples inside smell delicious. Dean had followed me inside and is taking the ice cream out of the freezer. Bobby helps find small plates and after letting the pie cool a few minutes, Dean is slicing into it, giving us all generous helpings. AFter that huge meal, I'm not sure how big a slice I can put away, but I take it anyway. I feel like he'd be offended if I left some of it on the plate. Then again, maybe he'll finish my piece in addition to his own.

Looking around the small table, I realize I'm home. Not necessarily this house in South Dakota, but with these people. Bobby's like an uncle, Sammy's my brother, and Dean… well, I'm just going to call him mine and leave it at that. The only negative thing niggling at the back of my mind is, "how long can this happiness last?"

A/N: Sorry for the long delay in posting this chapter, folks. I've been getting ready for my vacation and the prep took up a lot of my free time. That said, I'm leaving tomorrow (Sunday) for said vacation and will not have access to technology for a week. (yikes!) So, I won't be able to update until after I get back. If ideas strike, I'll write them in my notebook, but I won't be putting finger to keyboard for a while so it'll be probably a couple weeks until my next update. I apologize in advance and thank you all for sticking by during this infrequent update phase.

Up next will be Dean's birthday. Sammy and Bella are trying to keep it a surprise. But you know how that stuff usually pans out. We also may have a surprise visit from a certain vampire… though I haven't yet decided on that. (No it won't be Edward) Not yet at least… Gotta have a little more fluff and happy times before the angst and drama returns, right?

I might have to write the corn sword duel from Dean's perspective. Here's a sneak peek:

As I'm shucking the corn per Remi's instructions, I realize the bare corn ears with the husks all peeled away kind of resemble swords. Okay not really, but let me have my imagination for a minute. Sammy comes out after having put away some of the groceries. "Touché Sammy! Come on! Have at you!" I poke at him with the end of the corn cob. He rolls his eyes at me and blocks the corn with his hand.

"Dean this is childish," he complains, swatting me away again.

"I fart in your general direction, Sammy! Perre and twist!" I pick the other shucked ear of corn and throw it at him. "I challenge you to a duel! Loser has to clean up after Remi's amazing meal"

"Deal," Sam agrees, flipping the corn ear around and holding it out towards me. And so it begins!