As soon as the warm rain hit Dean's face his legs crumpled. I could hold his weight, but his arm was tight around my neck and his elbow was digging into my side. I set him down against the wall that wound around the car park of the bar and crouched in front of him.

"Dean? Dean?" He didn't respond. Rain was trickling down his face and clinging to his clothes. It was warm, but as it settled on your skin it sent a chill through your body. I jogged back to my jeep; there were a couple of 'just in case' jackets in the trunk. I wrapped them both round him as best I could and sat down beside him. I could have jumped in the car, lifted him in next to me, but I didn't feel like moving. All I could do was sit next to him in silence, watching the rain bounce of the car roofs and splash into puddles, wondering why he was here.

After what felt like an age, I felt Dean stir a little next to me. I moved so I was crouching in front of him again.

"Dean? Hey,"

His eyes opened slowly, heavy as though they were made of stone. He blinked away the rain.

"What were you doing?" The sadness in my voice surprised me.

"Maya?" He reached a wet hand to my cheek. "You came."

I pressed my cheek into his hand. "Of course I came. What the hell was going on in there? Why did you disappear?" I tried to keep my voice soft, but inside I felt hurt that he left so soon; angry that he'd gone and got himself hurt.

"I needed a drink." He answered simply, pulling his hand away.

"A drink? It looked like you drank like you had something to forget. You wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Maya, please..."

"Dean. You disappeared as soon as you had the chance... you didn't even wait for me to finish up in the shower. You've not been yourself since you picked me up," he opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.
"Don't try to deny it, Dean. You think I can't tell by now?" I gave him a small smile. "I'm not here to tell you off, Dean, I'm here because you got Sam and I worried, and because I'm here for you."

"You really are an angel, aren't you?"

She smiled at that, one that made her eyes crinkle. She was soaked through, wisps of hair that had fallen from her bun were plastered to her face by the rain, and her shirt clung to her body where she'd left her coat unzipped. She was wearing her green parka, with the fur hood she hadn't bothered to put up, and Dean could see the Run-D.M.C t-shirt peeking underneath the plaid he'd loaned her the in the first week they'd met. She was ready to settle down for the night, showered, in her sweats. She'd come straight out when she noticed he'd gone, hadn't even bothered to change. He felt a tightness in his chest.

"You shouldn't be with us," he just about managed to say.

Her nose crinkled as she looked at him. "What? Don't be crazy."

"I thought we could keep you safe. We can't."

Her neutral expression faltered a bit. "But... this stuff... it would have happened whether you were here or not. Dean, it's not your fault."

"You wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for us." He adjusted his position so he was sitting straighter, closer to her, his resolve strengthening with every word. "If you hadn't have bumped into us in the hospital that day, you wouldn't have known we were hunters, you wouldn't have agreed to work with us."

Her eyes fell to the floor. "But I would have worked it out eventually, I would have tried to take them on myself, then I would have died..."

Dean's stomached clenched. He imagined her then, lying on that bed, hooked up to those wires. How small and frail she looked, how quiet her voice was when spoke.

"Maya... she... I think she might be dying."

"I am."

His hands squeezed into fists as he tried to clear his mind of that memory, of the thoughts of what would have happened if they hadn't called Cas. She'd have faded away to nothing, alone. She was so strong, so smart, but none of that would have mattered in the end.

"You got a target on your back because of us, you're never gonna be safe."

She shook her head. "So, what? You want me to leave? All of this has already happened, Dean, it's too late for that. If I stay, they're gonna find me. If I go, they're gonna find me, only I won't have anybody there to have my back."

Dean's jaw clenched. "Trouble follows us wherever we go. If you're with us, they're never gonna forget about you. If you go, lie low, keep out of trouble, all this might have a chance of blowing over."

He watched her face change from determination to defeat. She wrapped her arms around herself. "You don't want me here."

Dean's stomach dropped. "What? No... I just... want you to be safe."

"How many times do you need to be told, Dean, I'm safer with you and Sam. I don't want to go home, I don't want my old life back."

"Your old life was safe."

She stood up, her cheeks red, the rain still dripping from her hair into her face. "This isn't about safe. I don't care about safe. I don't want to go, because I won't be with you and Sam."

He stood up too, reaching out a hand to grab her arm. She was shivering.

"Did you honestly think that after all this time, the only reason I'm here is self-preservation?"

"I... well..."

"I wouldn't have come with you just to be safe. I just wouldn't."

"Maya... come on..."

She squared up to him, blue eyes staring into his. "Tell me now. Do you really want me to go? If you can tell me that honestly, you truly want me to go, I'll go. Right now."

His eyes dipped to the floor. She put a finger under his chin and tilted his head so she could meet her gaze once more. "To my face, Dean. Look at me."

"I..."

She stayed silent. The rain was roaring now. She took a step closer to him, her hand reaching out to find his. She ran her thumb across his knuckles, red and bruised and freezing cold. His eyes didn't leave her face, pale, those freckles peeking through. She took another step, her gaze fell to his mouth. She waited for him to flinch; nothing. Her lips brushed against his, tentative, slow. His body stiffened at first, heart thudding in his chest. Then she was less cautious- insistent, but still gentle. Dean tried, he tried to resist, but the touch of her lips on his sent sparks fizzing through his body, thawing the ice that had come from all that time in the rain. He knew he shouldn't, he knew he should push her away, but the sweetness of her kiss, the way her hand reached for his jacket and gripped on to it like her life depended on it, he didn't have the strength. His resolve crumbled. She tasted like mint and rain and sweet apple pie. His hand snaked around her waist and closed the distance between them. His lips moved in sync with hers, warm but wet from the rain. Her touch was like a balm, seeping through his skin and into his body, soothing the throbbing in his ribs and his hands, the ache in his chest. He traced her bottom lip with his tongue and she laughed into the mouth, pulling away with flushed skin and heavy breaths.

"Are you sure you want me to go?" She asked.

"Don't you dare."