There was a heaviness that settled into the dungeon and Dean and Sam shared a tentative look before the older man's eyes moved to the young woman who was now standing a couple feet away, still staring at the broken devil's trap on the floor and the chair her friend had been sitting in seconds before her sudden departure.

Dean was taken aback by the look in Riley's dark eyes when she finally looked up at him. Her expression was unreadable and he opened his mouth to say something and she turned on her heel to leave. Her footsteps were angry, heavy and Sam saw his brother startle when the hidden door slammed open and her angry footsteps faded down the hallway towards the sleeping quarters. "Sonovabitch." Dean was pissed off at this whole situation and Riley was too, albeit for an entirely different reason.

"Wow." Sam breathed. "This wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I guess."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"She's pissed."

"Yeah, well Meg lied-,"

"I meant... at us."

Dean's eyes moved to Sam's, slightly put off by his statement. "We didn't do anything wrong, Sam."

The younger man worried the inside of his bottom lip before he spoke again. "That's not how Riley sees it."

"Yeah, well, she doesn't get to decide if what we do is right or wrong."

Castiel had been so quiet until that point that both brothers forgot he was still standing there, taking it all in until he spoke up quietly in Riley's defense. "And you two don't decide if she is upset by what just happened here." Dean glared at the angel and Castiel gave him a warning look of his own, tilting his head slightly and Dean threw up his hands, exasperated.

"Cas is right." Sam spoke carefully, knowing his brother was on edge. "Riley saw Meg as her friend and then she sees us treating her like a monster."

"She is a monster," There was a snarl to Dean's tone. "Or did you two somehow overlook that fact? Hm?"

Castiel considered that, his eyebrows going up a little. "Is Riley so different than Meg?" Dean wiped a sweaty hand down his face, knowing where the angel was going with his question. "Maybe there's a little Meg in all of us."

spnspnspnspn

Riley was in her room, packing a pair of socks and underwear into her purse before zipping it up. She pulled a hooded sweatshirt over her flannel shirt and untucked her hair before leaving her bedroom and heading for the kitchen. To her disappointment and as if he were reading her mind, Dean was standing there by the hook on the wall where they kept their car keys. Her eyes narrowed when she didn't see her truck keys there hanging next to his. "Where are my keys?"

He jingled them in his hand. "We need to talk first."

A rude snort left her and she rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She left him standing in the kitchen and brushed by Sam and Castiel in the hallway. Riley took a left and jogged up the stairwell into the garage. She found her spare in the magnetic box under the tailgate and unlocked her truck. After tossing her purse inside, Riley opened the door and got inside the cab to start her engine.

Her heart was still pounding and she heard the garage door slam open and Dean's voice call out to her. The tires squealed as Riley hit the gas pedal harder than she should have and tore out of the bunker onto the rut filled path. Her eyes moved to the rearview window and saw Dean standing there.

Fighting back tears, she spoke quietly into the quiet cab of her truck. "Meg, I'm heading out to Lebanon... can you please meet me there?"

spnspnspnspn

"What can I get for ya, hon?" The waitress asked the young woman in the booth and Riley sighed before she closed the slightly sticky menu.

"Just a large fry and a coke." The blonde smiled at her. "Thanks." She took the menu and moved to the counter to put in the order.

"Hey..." Meg's soft voice was barely heard over the chatter of the shop. "Can I sit?"

Riley nodded and the brunette slid into the booth across from her. "I ordered you some fries."

Meg smiled at the gesture and spoke softly. "I know you're pissed and I feel like I owe you some sort of an explanation." Riley considered that and smiled up at the waitress when she brought over Meg's pop. She pushed it across the table and Meg reached for a straw. "Maybe you won't believe me, but it's the truth."

"I'm listening."

The woman took a long drink of the fizzy drink and closed her eyes contentedly. "So Crowley is the one behind all this. The Mark of Cain was transferred to Dean and things... got a little out of hand with him." Riley's eyes closed for a few seconds as she remembered just how dark things had gotten. "Crowley knew from the get go that Dean would eventually give in to the Mark's darkness. He knew thirty some odd years ago that that damn thing wold eventually end up on Dean Winchester."

Riley took that in and sat forward a bit, her forearms on the table. "So where do I fit in here? I'm not even..." She paused as a group of teenagers ambled by their table before lowering her voice some. "I'm not even a hunter."

"Your daddy was." Meg took another sip. "Everyone in that hunting world is connected in some way or knows someone who knows someone... ya understand?" Riley nodded. "Crowley knew about your bloodline and what it could contain."

"That's why the Mark never really affected me?"

"Exactly." The waitress brought over the fries and Meg snatched one off the platter. "And Crowley is a sadist, so that's how he chose me for this assignment." Her features softened a bit and she lowered her voice, a certain sadness coming from her. "I used to be like you, Ry."

"Like me... how?" There was a suspicious undertone to her voice and Meg ate another fry.

"I was human."

Riley blinked rapidly and every fiber of her being was thrumming with adrenaline. "Excuse me?"

The young woman across from her searched for the words. "I meant what I told you back there in the bunker... I remember what it was like to be human. I had a family, siblings. But it was all taken from me."

"What happened?" Riley's suspicion was replaced with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Meg?"

"They were all killed in a car accident. Back in the forties." Meg's gaze moved down to the table. "It seems like a hundred lifetimes ago. I barely survived physically, but emotionally, I just gave up." There was a pause. "There's probably some newspaper article about it out there somewhere... just never bothered to look because seeing it there, in black and white, would make it true."

"I don't understand." Pause. "How did you become..."

Meg gave her a tight lipped, sad little smile. "Ry, when people die at their own hand, they don't often go straight upstairs, if you know what I mean." The weight of her words made Riley's eyes sting with tears. "That's why Crowley chose me to get close to you. Me and you... we aren't so different."

Riley felt Meg squeeze her hand on the table top. "So you..."

"Yeah, I did. And surprise... it didn't make the pain go away." Her confession was soft. "I could see so much of myself in you, back In Decorah at school. Your pain was so much like mine and I could feel your losses." Riley plucked a napkin from the dispenser at the end of the table to wipe her eyes. "I'm sorry. I really am. No one should ever feel pain like that." The young woman across from her nodded. "I've done things I'm not real proud of, Riley." Dean's words were coming from Meg's lips right then. "Those times we hung out reminded me what it was like to be human. I'm sorry for deceiving you, Ry."

That made Riley smile through her tears. "I wanted to come here and yell at you for lying to me all that time and I end up blubbering like an idiot."

"If anything, I'd like to thank you, Riley. You reminded me what it was like to be young and full of hope. You're still here... still human. Don't take that for granted. You know what I'd give to have a second chance?"

"I'm still alone."

Meg pointed a fry at her. "You have those two idiot brothers who would die for you without a second thought and that's what family is." A wistful smile graced her lips. "And that adorable angel too."

That made Riley smile. "Meg, I know we're from... different sides of the tracks, but I wouldn't mind... getting coffee once in a while."

Meg pulled out a few bills and tossed them on the table. "Me either." She smiled at Riley. "I'm gonna get outta here, but I want you to think about what I said, hm?" The brunette nodded and Meg adjusted her leather jacket. "You take care, Riley." With a wink, the other woman turned on her heel and walked out of the crowded shop, disappearing into the night.

spnspnspnspn

"The hell do you want?"

Meg rolled her eyes. "I know Riley left."

"How?'

"She called me." He snorted rudely and she shook her head. "Relax. Just wanted to tell you where Riley is."

Dean exhaled through his nose, his left hand tightening around the steering wheel. "Where?"

"Before I tell you, I want you to know something." It was his turn to roll his eyes. "She's pissed off at you."

"Don't you think I know that?"

"Dean, she and I aren't so different, y'know."

"You're a demon."

"Details, Dean." Meg paused. "Just please, promise me you'll take care of her." That was unexpected and Meg chuckled at his shocked silence. "She's something special."

"I will." He turned on his blinker and pulled into the parking lot, thumbing off his phone. He parked and got out, scanning the busy lot before heading towards the front door.

spnspnspnspn

Riley adjusted the brightness on her cell phone's screen once she was back in her truck, parked at the end of the lot. She was scrolling old new articles until she found one in New York, stating the facts Meg had given her. The name of the only survivor was Meghan Harrington, a 15 year old girl without any other family.

She found the article about Meghan's untimely death, calling it an unfortunate accident. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now and she wiped her eyes on her sleeve, wanting to continue to read the remainder of the article.

"Chocolate or strawberry?" Dean's voice from outside her open window startled her and she gasped softly. Riley set her phone down on the bench seat next to her and met the gaze of the man she'd been so angry with earlier.

"Strawberry." He handed one of the cups into her through the window before moving around to the front of the car to open the passenger side to slide in next to her. Dean pulled the door closed and took a sip of his chocolate shake. "How'd you find me?"

His features softened the slightest bit. "Friend of yours called me."

Meg.

"I'm pissed off."

"I know you are."

"Dean, this isn't fair."

"You're damn right it isn't." They sipped their milkshakes quietly before he spoke again. "If I had it my way, you'd still be at school and Bobby would be alive to cheer you on and you wouldn't have that Mark."

"If I had it my way, I don't know what I'd want." He looked over at her.

"Meaning?"

"I'd want my mom and dad back, but if my dad hadn't left, Bobby wouldn't have been in my life and I never would've met you, Dean."

"You never know."

"When would our paths have crossed? The stars lined up so we could meet? This was all supposed to happen."

"Maybe it was." Dean stirred his shake with the red striped straw, his eyes downward. "Riley, I'm sorry about the way I acted today. I never want you to feel afraid of me again... afraid of what I'm capable of..." Riley's gaze stayed on the windshield, watching people mill in and out of the busy burger stop. "I don't want you to go on any more hunts with us. I don't want you to see that side of me."

Riley looked over at him. "That side of you? Dean, that's what you are." He made a face, not looking up from his shake. "You're a hunter. Maybe I'm the one who needs to come to grips with that."

He wasn't expecting that. "I thought you were gonna leave us today."

She sipped her shake. "Crossed my mind."

"That scared me." His voice dropped. "Because everyone leaves me, in some way or another."

Riley's throat tightened considerably. "You're gonna have to try harder than that to get me to leave." Dean's dimple deepened and his eyes crinkled at the sides as he smiled some next to her, his eyes still downcast. "Just promise me something?"

"Anything." He meant that,

"Be good to Meg. I know you guys don't really get along..."

"Promise." Riley leaned across her bench seat and Dean met her halfway. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are." He leaned in and kissed her softly, her lips cold from the pink ice cream. "Follow ya home?"

spnspnspnspn

Hey lovelies!

Special thank yous to artemis7448, jloh217, ButterflyAlley, unsigned guest and Agonyshit for your reviews on the last chapter! Thank you to those who added Zemblanity on their favorites and following Riley's story. Means so much to me!

OMG... who else was rooting for one more layer to be taken off on the new episode tonight? *drools*

Have a great week! Please review!

CitrineMama