Chapter 1:

Dean woke up before Candy did, and he instantly realized his arm was numb, trapped under Candy's waist. For a moment, he just stared down at her. He wasn't sure if he wanted to wake her or not. Of course, they were working a rather confusing case, and more research needed to be done. However, it was always hard for Dean to bring himself to wake her up in the mornings. She looked beautiful to him while she was sleeping. Lord knew she needed as much as she could get. Luckily, Candy woke up on her own.

"Good morning," he smiled down at her. Her bright green eyes fluttered for a moment, then looked up at him lovingly. She didn't say anything, but that was typical of Candy when she first woke up. "We have to be out of here by noon tomorrow, so... we need to wrap this case up today. Do you want the shower first?" Candy nodded and sulked out of bed. Dean admired her as she made her way to the bathroom in only her underwear. Dean climbed out of bed once the bathroom door closed, and he pulled on his jeans groggily.

He waited patiently for Candy to get out of the shower. Once she did, Dean finished getting ready, and they headed into town to meet with the woman who had information on the hive of vampires they had been searching for. Candy woke up eventually. She finally began talking, so Dean let her lead the interview.

The woman had been attacked and chased by a man with a row of sharp teeth protruding from his gums. She was chased into the road where a car picked her up before he could reach her. The car took her to the police station, and she gave her report. Dean and Candy were posing as FBI, and asked her to report to them as well. She told them where she was attacked, and every detail she could remember of the incident. They wrapped it up quickly, then headed for the old barn that she had been walking near.

"So when am I going to get my own gun?" Candy asked Dean as they drove. Dean looked over at her and chuckled,

"If I ever get around to teaching you how to use one."

"It can't be that hard," Candy protested. "Come on, I need a gun. Maybe a shot gun. I don't care, but you have a ton of them in your trunk, and I think it's about time you let me use one." Her hand drifted over and rested on Dean's thigh, rubbing gently. "Please, baby... I'll make it worth your while. I promise you that much."

"You're not going to seduce me into letting you use one of my guns," Dean grinned. "I mean... as difficult as it is to say no to that face you're making right now, I have to. You've never handled a gun before. Stick to knives. They're more your thing. You're good with them."

"I'm not denying that, but I do think I should be good with a variety of weapons. Like you." She smiled up at him. Dean was really bad at saying no to Candy, especially when she bat her eyes at him and smiled the way she was right then. It made his resistance melt away.

"Fine. I'll take you to the gun range after this case, okay? Just... for now, stick to a blade. It's easy to take a bloodsucker's head off with a blade," Dean gave in. He reached forward and turned on the radio. "I think it'll be good for you to be good with different weapons, too. I can't let anything happen to you, so the better you can defend yourself the safer you'll be. The better I'll feel about dragging you along. We've lost a lot of people being a part of this life and..."

"And you don't want to lose me to the job," she finished his sentence for him. "Yes, Dean, I know. You tell me that all the time, babe, I got it. Sam lost Jessica, and you both lost your mom and everyone else... I know all the stories and all the people you lost. And now Sam..." She stopped. Neither of them wanted to talk about it, and she knew that. So she quieted herself. "You won't lose me, Dean. I promise. I'll always be here."

"Well, I want you here alive and not dead. I can't hold a ghost, Candy," he said, a little more serious than he was before. He turned down a ragged dirt road, muttering something about the dirt that was going to get on the Impala.

"Don't worry about it. I'll wash it for you," she winked at Dean, causing his face to flush slightly. He knew the kind of image that she was trying and succeeding to putting in his head. "How many vamps are there supposed to be in this nest anyways?"

"Well, Bobby said there have been numerous attacks in this area over a span of twelve years, so... There's a good chance there's more than two," Dean told her. "If you're scared and you want me to take you back to the motel, I will."

"When have I ever been scared before? After the first haunting case we did," Candy trailed off. She thought about the first ghost that she had ever had to hunt with Dean. It was a woman who had been killed by her adulterous husband, and she was terrifying to look at. Candy spent more time running and hiding from her than actually trying to help Dean destroy her. It was something she was ashamed of, but she was also able to laugh about it.

At the end of the road, there was a run down old barn that looked exactly like what a building left untouched for twelve years would look like. Candy was starting to get the typical prebattle jitters that she always felt before they entered a nest. More than likely there would be multiple vamps inside that Dean would take down almost completely on his own. She knew that she wasn't good for much, but she always worked at it so she could get better. All she wanted was to be more of an asset to Dean and not a burden.

Dean burst through the door first, gun drawn. As expected, there were four vampires in the barn. Two were up in the loft, and two more were down on the ground. Dean rushed forward, jabbing a syringe full of dead man's blood into the shoulder of one vamp while slicing the head off of the other. Candy watched in amazement as Dean finished off the other vampire soon after. It was always amazing to see Dean in action, and Candy hated to admit that she found it incredibly attractive.

Unfortunately, the two vamps in the loft moved too quickly, and they were down on the ground between Dean and Candy. One of them rushed Dean, while the other ran at Candy. Remembering all of her training, Candy pulled her blade from its holster at her hip and drove it upwards through the vamps bottom jaw, forcing its jaws closed. She used her to foot to kick it away, then leapt on top of it. She jabbed her knife into its neck and turned it until she separated the vampire's head from its body. When she stood, Dean was behind her. He had taken care of the other vampire with absolute ease, and was rushing to Candy to make sure she was okay. Candy turned to face him, blood splattering her pale cheeks. Her eyes were wide and a little frightened, so Dean did what he always did after they solved a case.

He reached up and rested his hand on her cheek gently, attempting to wipe the blood away with his thumb. Then he leaned down to kiss her gently. After a moment, he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.

"You okay?" He asked her after taking a step back. He looked her over, and sighed in relief when he realized she had not been injured by the vamp. She nodded to reassure him anyways, then curled her arm around his so they could make their way back to the Impala. Once there, Dean started up the car and pulled away from the barn. The case was solved, which meant they would hit the road again the next morning. For the night, however, he intended to celebrate the best way he knew how. By being with Candy. Drinking, most likely.

Drinking is exactly what they did. Dean had a few beers, while Candy downed a few shots to get a good buzz. She was just drunk enough to swing her hips along to REO Speedwagon in one of Dean's old flannels. Dean sat and watched her for awhile, reminding himself of how much he really cared about the girl in front of him with the fiery curls bouncing around as she moved.

Then, after a moment, he reached out and took her by the hand. He pulled her to him then down onto the bed beside him. Leaning on his elbow, he slowly unbuttoned the flannel she was wearing, revealing a lacy black bra underneath. She arched her back a little and rolled over with a light grunt of disapproval.

"Just hold me, Dean. Keep me warm," she pleaded, childishly sticking out her bottom lip. Unable to say no, Dean wrapped his arms around her. He pulled the covers up over them and held her against his chest. After kissing her lightly on he forehead, he settled down beside her to go to sleep. It wasn't long before he drifted off.

Sometime in the middle of the night, there was a series of knocks on the door that startled Dean out of sleep. He carefully crawled out from under Candy's arm, making sure that he didn't wake her. Luckily, she just groaned and rolled over onto her back. Dean scurried to the door, gun in hand, then pulled it open. The gun Dean was holding behind his back dropped to the floor, and Dean's heart stopped for a moment inside of his chest.

On the other side, Sam was leaning against the door frame, looking up at Dean with teary eyes. Dean took a deep breath, then raised his gun at Sam.

"What are you?" He whispered.

"Dean, it's really me. Look," Sam panted, pulling a silver blade from the back of his jeans and dragging it across his arm. Next, he pulled out a plastic bottle and took a sip from it. "I'm not possessed and I'm not a shapeshifter. It's really me, Dean... I'm back."