Dean woke with a terrible headache and fuzzy memory of the night before. He had been laid down on the bed, over the blankets and sheets, with all of his clothes still on. In the bed beside him, Sam laid in a similar fashion, all dressed up, flat on his back. Slowly, Dean pushed himself up from the mattress, staggering a little once he was on his feet.

"Dean," Candy said his name sweetly. She had just stepped out of the bathroom, hair wet and dangling down around her small pale face. She wore nothing but a white tank top and her underwear. Dean could see every bump, scrape, and bruise that had been inflicted upon her. The most noticeable was the bruised handprint around her neck, which stood out with its deep purple tone against her ivory flesh. A sudden wave of anger and sadness washed over Dean as he looked at Candy, analyzing every mark that had been made on her body.

"What's wrong?" Candy asked, her head cocked to the side curiously. He reached out to touch the bruise on her cheek with his thumb, but immediately dropped his hand when Candy winced. "Sorry," she muttered, covering her cheek with her hand and turning her face away. "Cas hasn't had the time to heal me, I guess. He's been with Meg all day."

"With Meg? Doing what?" Dean frowned, angry that Cas would ignore Candy's injuries to run around with a demon. Candy smiled a little,

"I think he likes her."

"I'm pretty sure he likes you."

"He stayed there last night," Candy noted. "I heard them laughing early this morning. I think that Castiel might have a new crush." She pulled your hair back and used the hairtie on her wrists to wrap it up in a messy bun. "My whole body hurts."

"I have an idea," Sam grumbled as he sat up from the bed. "Why don't we take you to the doctor, Candy. He could tend to your wounds and give you some painkillers if you need them." Candy waved Sam off nonchalantly,

"I don't need a doctor. I've dealt with worse."

"Candy," Sam frowned at her. "Does your throat hurt?"

"Yeah, but its not that bad."

"What if its damaged?" Sam asked her. "You have to take care of yourself, Candy." Dean muttered something under his breath that neither of them could decipher, then stormed out of the room. Sam sat on the edge of the bed, then motioned for Candy to sit in his lap. She happily obliged, wrapping her arms around his neck as she settled in on his legs and snuggled against his broad, firm chest. Sam held her tightly, but not too tight, because he didn't want to hurt her.

"Do you think I'm weak?" Candy asked him suddenly.

"Not at all," Sam chuckled. "If anything, you're the strongest person I know. What makes you think that you're weak?"

"I keep getting hurt... Everyone has to protect me and come to my rescue all of the time," she explained. "Getting injured so often is starting to cause problems for everybody. I want to be taken seriously as a hunter, like you and Dean. Monsters know you and fear you. They know me because I'm with you guys, and they think I'm nothing but a useless slut."

"Stop talking like that," Sam said seriously, pushing her back so he could look her in the eyes. "First of all, you're not a slut. Not even close, Candy. You've been with three men in your whole life, and Dean and I are two of them. Secondly, you're not useless or weak. Dean has told me all about hunting with you. You threw yourself into danger for him several times, and you recently killed a vampire, an angel, and a demon all by yourself. That's not weak, Candy."

"Then why do they target me?"

"Because they think you're not going to put up a fight, but they're wrong. Let them think that because it just means they let their guard down. You have an advantage in that way, Candy," he tried to cheer her up. He tilted her head up with his fingers, then lightly brushed them over the hand shaped bruise around her neck. "Was this Crowley?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to kill him," Sam grumbled. "It's amazing how even these marks all over your body somehow make you look so beautiful." He placed a soft, tender kiss on her lips, then another on her forehead. "Don't stress out about this anymore, Candy. I promise you're just as important as we are. They target you because of us, and because you're our greatest weakness. Nothing hurts more than losing you, Candy."

"I wish that... One day we could settled down somewhere. Just the three of us. A typical three bedroom, two bath house with a lot of yard and a couple of dogs. A nice big king sized bed for us," she beamed. "It would be so perfect."

"Not exactly," Sam shrugged, moving her to the side so he could rest his elbows on his knees. Candy leaned against his arm,

"What's wrong?"

"What about marriage, Candy? Or kids?" Sam questioned. "The kind of relationship we all have right now only works in this life. If we did settle down and we did try normal lives... It wouldn't work with all three of us, Candy."

"We could make it work," Candy tried to be optimistic. "I couldn't lose either of you, not now. Not after having you both back in my life again."

"But, I want to be married to you one day, Candy. And I want kids with you. I don't want to be a hunter forever, but even if we weren't, we can't have a normal life like this. With the three of us instead of just two." Sam took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter. Well never get out of this life alive anyways. We probably will never have to cross that bridge."

"I'm sorry, Sam... I'm sorry I can't be easier to be with." Candy let her head fall, suddenly feeling like an inconvenience to Sam rather than a girlfriend. Sam noticed her disheartened expression, but he couldn't take back what he said. If he took it back, he would have to pretend it wasn't completely true. He did want to marry Candy, and he didn't want to havec children with her . he wanted that perfect little house and perfect little family, but it would be difficult having to share it all with Dean. They couldn't all be married, and Sam didn't want Dean and Candy to have a kid together. He wouldnt mind staying like they were, but there were so many things that he couldn't have in the future if he ever got out of the life.

Candy tried not to think about it all day, but she couldn't help herself. When she decided to be honest with herself, she realized that she did indeed want kids one day. Being in a relationship with two people would be ridiculous if she wanted children and marriage, which she did. No matter what, she could never choose between them, not after Sam had become so close to her again. Every boundary between them had been broken, and she loved both of them so much. Still, in her mind she always imagined those things with Dean. Before Sam jumped into the pit, she never even thought about marriage and kids. After that, she was alone with Dean for a long time. The ideas started to cross her mind.

Castiel did eventually come by to heal her wounds. Shortly after, he left again to keep an eye out for Meg, since, "Meg was on Crowley's hitlist." Candy didn't mind it. She was happy to see that Castiel had taken a liking to someone else. She enjoyed his affection, because there was something innocent and genuine about his actions towards her, but she hated that it hurt him to want to be with her. If he found love with someone else, she wanted it to work out. Castiel deserved to be happy, just like Sam and Dean did.

Once her body aches were gone, Candy changed into a baggy, lacy beige sweater and a pair of light colored Jean shorts. Dean loved that Candy. The one who wanted to be comfortable, not sexy all of the time. Not that Dean disliked the Candy in short dressed and low cut shirts, but sometimes he liked to see her comfortably curled up in a sweater on the bed, warm and content. That's exactly what he saw when he got out of the shower, except she didn't seem completely content. Instead, she had a pensive expression etched into her face, like she was thinking hard about something that worried her.

"Where's Sammy?" He asked her as he pulled on a tee shirt. Candy pulled her legs up closer to her body, sinking deeper into the mattress,

"He went for a drive."

"In my car? Without me?" Dean raised his eyebrows. "That son of a bitch." He watched as Candy rolled away from him. "What's wrong?" Candy balled up even tighter.

"Just thinking," she muttered.

"About what?"

"Something Sam said."

"What'd he say?"

"Dean, can I ask you a question?" She sat up and turned to look at him. "Do you want to marry me? Or have kids? One day, I mean, not anytime soon."

"Did this come from Sam?"

"Just answer me, Dean," Candy frowned. She stood slowly, hands fidgeting against her stomach. "Do you want those things with me? Or do you want it to stay like this forever?"

"I'm fine either way, as long as you're here," Dean shrugged. "Why? Did Sam mention this to you? He's always been kind of a romantic. In the sense that he's a lot more optimistic and hopeful than I ever was. It's good though. Better than being cold and bitter."

"Dean, I'm serious," she whined. "He wants those things, and I do, too, one day. We can't have them like this. What do I do? What if he decides to leave so he can have those things?"

"Let him."

"Dean, I don't want to lose him," she whimpered. "I love him, just like I love you. I couldn't do this without both of you. I know its not right and that I'm spoiled but... You two are the most important things in my life, and losing either of you takes away half of me."

"Candy, stop worrying so much," Dean reassured her, walking over to kiss her on the forehead. "Sam gets into these moods when he wants to quit hunting and live a normal life. But he always comes back. You won't ever have to deal with those issues, I promise. You have us, both of us, and I know for a fact, neither of us would ever let you go."

"I don't know anymore, Dean," she sighed and laid her head on his chest. Dean wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. "Maybe he is getting tired of sharing me... Maybe he'd be happier with someone else, Dean."

"He loves you, Candy, more than anything." Dean kissed the top of her head gently. "Don't stress yourself about this anymore. I promise you it'll be okay. Marraige and kids are both years and years away, if we ever even get to that issue."

"Okay," she took a deep breath. "Thank you, Dean. You're probably right. Well probably never have to deal with either. Thanks for the comforting. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Anytime, baby."