I tried to stay up, so that once Dean fell asleep I could sneak out and have Cas meet me. Unfortunately, Dean seemed to have guessed my plans. He pretended to fall asleep quickly so that he could surprise me if I tried to sneak off, attempting to do a fake snore that was probably the worst I'd ever seen. And I'd seen my six year old brother try that.

The next thing I knew it was morning. Dean was throwing open the curtains to my little motel room, letting the sun hit me full glare in the face.

"Ugghh." I turned over onto my other side, ignoring Dean's laughter from behind me.

"Morning," he called. "Sleep well?"

"Screw you."

Dean chuckled again and came to shake my shoulder. "Come on," he said. "Time to get up. Don't make me throw water on you."

I shot a one eyed glare at him. "You wouldn't."

Dean's grin only grew bigger. "I would."

Upon thinking about it for a moment I realized he really would. I shot out of bed, and once more ignoring Dean, slammed the bathroom door behind me.

By the time I'd finished in the shower Cas and Sam had arrived with breakfast. Cas and I sat together as I ate, which basically meant I sat in his lap. Dean seemed slightly annoyed by that, so Cas and I started to steal quick kisses and make small puns that had Sam cackling and Dean turning a rather unhealthy shade of green.

"Ok," Sam said. He crumpled up his McDonalds wrapper and took a long draught of his coffee. "So, what's the plan?"

"You bring us to where you lost the shifter," Dean instructed. "Then we start combing the surrounding area. Look for shape shifter skins."

"It'll probably be in an abandoned building," I added. "He or she would want privacy, wouldn't want anyone stumbling upon their little lair."

"It would be a tall building too," Cas reasoned. "If the shape shifter is travelling on the roofs, their starting point would need to be about the same height as the surrounding buildings, so they can jump around."

"Right," I breathed. I hadn't thought of that, but it was brilliant. "Good thinking."

Cas looked so proud of himself, and I rewarded him with a kiss.

"You two done making out?" asked Dean. He stood and grabbed his coat. "We have a case to work."

"What's the matter Dean?" I asked.

Dean shot me a glare, and I didn't bother trying to hide my smile.

We drove down to Franklin Avenue, parking the car outside a little deli. From there we peered out the windows at the surrounding street, trying to see if there were any buildings there that the shifter might be using.

"What about there?" asked Sam. He pointed toward the other end of the street, to a tall ramshackle of a building.

Cas vanished from beside me. Sam, Dean, and I barely had time to realize this when he appeared again, shaking his head.

"No," he said. "It's under construction; there are workers in there. I think they're turning it into a small shopping center."

"So no way our shifter could sneak in and out of there every night without being seen," pointed out Dean.

"You know what would've been helpful," I mused. "If we had bothered to research the area last night, figure out which buildings are inhabited or not. Why didn't we think of that?"

Dean sighed. "Cos we're idiots."

"Hold on," said Sam. "I can do it." He pulled out his phone and began typing, and the rest of us waited in impatient silence.

"Ok," Sam said. "There're a couple uninhabited apartments on this street, and a few streets over there's an abandoned factory."

"What're the addresses?" asked Cas.

Sam quickly relayed the information, and Cas vanished. A minute later he appeared again, falling into a sitting position as he did to avoid banging his head against the roof of the car.

"It's the factory," he told us. "There's a dumpster behind it where the shifter is throwing out skins, and it's clear he's been there."

Dean put the car in drive, and two minutes later we were parking in front of the factory. We slipped inside as inconspicuously as we could, and Cas led us up to the top floor. There we found, amid the tattered remains of abandoned machines, piles of neatly folded black shirts and pants. Combat boots, also black, were set to the side, and a dirty rag and can of polisher to the side indicated that the boots had recently been scrubbed clean of blood.

In one corner of the room was a stash of medical supplies. I wasn't sure why the shifter had bothered with it- he or she would heal from any injuries not inflicted by silver, and only hunters carried around silver weapons- but hey, I could appreciate their readiness.

I peered out the window. There was a fire escape that, though rickety in appearance, seemed sturdy enough, and led to the roof. I had Cas fly me down to the dumpster below the window, where we uncovered rotting shape shifter skins and tattered clothes- discarded after being ruined in fights.

"Yep," I said as we landed beside Sam and Dean. "This is the place."

Dean nodded. "So," he said. "Here's the question. Do we just stay here and wait, or try something else?"

"They seemed pretty clever to me," Sam said. "I feel like he or she would realize we're here."

Cas went to the window and peered around us. "So we watch from the other buildings," he recommended. "One of the empty apartments is right across the street; we'll be able to see the factory from there."

I grinned, catching on. "When we see the shifter come in we surround him. Someone will have to be on the roof, so he can't run that way, and the rest of us come in from the stairs."

"I could just fly you all in," suggested Cas.

I nodded. "And then he's cornered."

Cas and I shared grins, so proud of our plan, then turned to Sam and Dean. The two of them traded looks, shrugged, and nodded their consent.


Stakeouts are boring. We spent the rest of the day in our abandoned apartment of choice, not wanting the shifter to see us trying to sneak in later that night, polishing weapons and trading small talk. Eventually Cas and I slipped away to the other end of the apartment, and Sam managed to keep Dean from bugging us for an hour or two. Curled up together, mine and Cas's voices lowered as we began talking about more personal topics, occasionally breaking for light yet passionate kisses. We were forced to emerge only when Dean started complaining that he was hungry.

Cas popped to the nearest store, grabbing sandwiches and pie. We ate slowly, knowing we had plenty of time until the sun finished setting, and I stole some of Dean's pie. This earned an earful of complaining from him, but I decided it was his punishment from splitting Cas and I up the night before.

As the sun finally sank below the horizon we took turns sitting at the window, watching the factory across the street for the shifter. We had no idea which direction he would come from. We could just see the main entrance from our apartment though, and the fire escape that the shifter seemed to be using was right in plain view. Either way, when he or she did show, we would see him.

That happened about two hours after the sun set. Dean was keeping watch at that point, and Sam, Cas, and I were playing a card game toward the center of the room when Dean jumped upright, waving us over to the window.

"He just went in," he told us.

"You sure?" I asked. "Did you get a good look at him?"

Dean shook his head. "No. He was wearing a hoodie. But he walked right in the building."

I shrugged. It was good enough for me. We waited a minute, then Cas flew us to the second floor of the building. A moment later he disappeared, moving to block the fire escape.

"Let's go," said Sam.

We crept forward, peering cautiously inside the room at the third floor of the factory. Wherever the shifter was he was blocked from our view by a piece of machinery that had been left over, but we could hear him moving around. Judging by the grunting, pained sounds I was hearing he was changing skins, and wasn't having a fun time with it.

The boys burst in without warning. I followed after them, my silver gun held ready, and found one very frightened shifter, clad only in his underwear, sprinting for the window. He skidded to a stop when Cas materialized in front of him, cussing and launching a spinning kick at my boyfriend.

Cas went flying backward, and before he had a chance to stand again the shifter was pushing open the window.

"Cas!"

Cas waved me away as I moved toward him. "I'm fine," he assured me. He stood, and together we watched as Sam and Dean followed the shifter out the window.

"They're not gonna catch him," I realized.

Cas shook his head. "Come here," he ordered. He grabbed my hand, and a moment later we were on the roof.

The shifter was sprinting west, and Cas flew us so that we appeared right in his path. This time we were ready for his attack, both of us dodging out of the way. Then we attacked at once, from opposite sides.

To my surprise, the shifter was annoyingly good at fending us off. Even when Sam and Dean arrived a moment later it took a minute to subdue him. That happened with me clobbering him over the head with the butt of my angel blade, which the shifter had nearly sent skidding off the roof of the building we were on halfway through the fight.

As the shifter collapsed I cast a glance around the group. Cas had a bloody nose, though I was sure he barely noticed and had already healed from it. Sam was holding his wrist, and Dean was pressing a hand to the back of his head. I was sore in several places, but I didn't think I would have any permanent damage.

I took a deep breath. "I guess all that training did come in handy."

The boys chuckled.

"Everyone alright?" asked Dean.

I gave a thumbs up, but no one was believing Sam's pained nod. Cas seized Sam's arm, then proclaimed as a blue glow spread over Sam's wrist that the bone was fractured.

"Stupid ninja shape shifter," Sam muttered.

Dean snorted, rolling his eyes as Cas moved on to his head.

"Let's get him inside," I suggested.

Cas slung the shifter over his shoulder and disappeared, leaving the rest of us to pick our way across the roofs. By the time we joined Cas he had found a chair and rope and had tied the shifter to it. He stood as we slid in the window, having finished the last knot.

"I think he's going to be out for a while," he cautioned. "You hit him pretty hard."

I wasn't sure if I should've been feeling more upset or proud by that, or which was more prevalent. I did catch the proud looks that all three boys aimed at me, and I widely ignored them. Instead I moved to the navy sweatshirt, baggy jeans, and beat up sneakers that had been discarded, rifling through the pockets.

"Here we go," I declared. I flipped open the shifter's wallet, quickly scanning for some sort of ID. The first thing I saw was a learner's permit.

"Crap," I muttered. I pulled it out of the wallet, using my flashlight to read it. "This kid's only sixteen."

There were several curses from behind me. "What's his name?" asked Dean.

"Wesley Burt," I said. I surveyed the picture next to the name. The boy in the photo had dark brown hair and blue eyes. He had a small smile on for the camera in his photo, but it looked like it was forced.

I sighed. It was bad enough we were still unsure about our course of action, but now he was a kid. It suddenly occurred to me that we could just untie him and leave town, slip away before he woke. We didn't have to deal with this. Just this once, we could let something slip by.

No. We couldn't do that. We had to see this case through to the end, for better or worse. That was our job. We couldn't back out just because it got tough.

Sensing my unhappiness, Cas came and squeezed my shoulder, gently pulling the permit and wallet out of my hands. After they had been replaced in the shape shifter's pockets he lead me to the corner of the room, and I buried my face in his shoulder and let myself forget about the case for a few minutes.

My peace was shattered when there was a moan from the center of the room, and I glanced up with dread to see the shifter slowly rolling his head around. A moment later he seemed to remember what had happened because he jolted upright, stopped only by the cords binding him to the chair.

It was hard to see him in the dim light, but I knew he was still wearing the skin of Harry Jameson. Blond hair and green eyes, a build that was somewhat larger than his natural one.

"It's ok," I said. I held my hands up as I approached, my heart pounding in my throat. "We're not- Let's just talk."

I barely stopped myself from promising that we weren't there to hurt him. The truth was I had no idea if we were. Wesley seemed to realize that, because he shot me a disbelieving scowl and strained against the ropes.

"Hey, kid," said Dean. "Would you just stop? Listen to us. Ok? Just for a minute."

Wesley stopped straining. "You're hunters," he spat.

Dean nodded. "We are."

"Then you're here to kill me."

"Not necessarily." Sam stepped forward, doing his best to keep his voice low and soothing. "We're honestly not quite sure what we're gonna do. Right now we just want to talk."

Wesley's eyes flickered back and forth between us, narrowed. Slowly though they relaxed, and though he still looked tense, he gave a curt nod that said to go ahead.

Sam sighed in relief. "Have you killed anybody?" he asked.

Wesley's answer was immediate. "No."

"Will you?"

"No."

Dean scowled. "How do you know that?" he asked.

"I don't kill."

Dean shrugged. "Accidents happen. Mistakes. One night you let your anger get away from you, go too far. You don't know if you're telling the truth. You can't."

Wesley's eyebrows lifted. "You sound like you're speaking from experience.

Dean gulped, his face paling ever so slightly. Before he could respond I stepped forward, giving Dean a warning look.

"Why do you do this?" I asked. "The whole vigilante thing. Why?"

"Why do you hunt?" asked Wesley. "The same reason. There are bad things out there, and the law isn't always enough."

I bit my lip and stepped back, somewhat afraid of the part of me that agreed with him. I traded looks with Cas, but for once I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"You've come here because I'm something that the law can't handle," pressed Wesley. "You're taking matters into your own hands. How is that any different than what I do?" He paused for a moment, then continued. "Oh yes, that's right. I don't kill. You do. So when you think about it, who's really the monster here?"

I gulped, backing away. The little voice in the back of my mind teasing the possibility that he was right was now screaming, and I just wanted it to shut up. Even Cas's hand around my own didn't quiet it, didn't stop my heaving breaths.

I retreated to a corner of the room with Sam, Dean, and Cas, and we put our heads together. I could see that all three of them were uneasy.

"He has a point," said Sam. He shook his head, as though he couldn't believe he had just said that. "I hate to admit it, but he does."

I nodded silently, and Dean sighed. "So what do we do?" he asked.

"Hold on." Cas stalked over to Wesley. "Do you plan on stopping?"

Wesley's eyes burned as they locked with Cas's, and for a moment my breath caught in hope.

"No."

I nearly sagged against the wall in defeat as Cas returned to us with a sigh. Running a hand through my hair, I turned back to the boys.

"Now what?"

Dean shrugged. "No idea."

For a few minutes we were all silent, each of us thinking the same thing.

"Could we-" Sam said at last.

"No," said Cas. He frowned, blue eyes troubled. "Possibly. Probably not. I don't know."

I sighed. We were going round and round in circles, and we still didn't have a plan. I could feel Wesley watching us from the center of the room, still tied up. Suddenly all I could see in my head was the photo on his permit, blue eyes and awkward smile.

He was just a kid. He was a kid doing what he felt was right. Just like me when I'd first started hunting. Who was I to pass judgment on him?

I gasped out air. "I can't," I declared. I quickly lowered my voice, surprised at myself. "I can't do it. I can't kill him."

The boys all studied my face, and I noted how they looked like they agreed. Slowly, each let their feelings take over, until they each nodded in agreement.

"Ok," said Dean. He didn't sound all that disappointed. He moved away from us, stalking back across the room to where Wesley was watching us.

"Here's the deal," he said. "We're gonna let you go. But if you kill anyone, even one person, we're gonna be back. You got it?"

Wesley nodded, and despite the cool outer shell he mostly managed to maintain, I could see a flash of relief behind his eyes. "Understood," he snapped.

Dean nodded and flicked out his pocket knife, slitting the cords around Wesley's wrists and ankles. Then, before Wesley could stand, Cas flew us out of the factory.

We quickly gathered up our things in the apartment we'd held the stakeout in, then drove back to the motel. We were all silent as we drove, and I could feel the turmoil in the car.

This time Dean didn't object to Cas and I sharing a room, and we took turns showering before collapsing on my bed together.

"Are you ok?" whispered Cas.

I bit my lip, unsure. "Yeah," I said at last.

"Lucy."

I sighed. "I just- did we make the right call, Cas? Are we gonna regret this?"

Cas sighed and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "I don't know," he admitted. "We can't know what he's going to do in the future. But I think it's a good thing we gave him a chance."

I nodded. Cas was right. But that didn't mean I was sure about what we'd done. There was a part of me that was tempted to return to the factory, even though Wesley was long gone by now, and try to kill him. It would be easier. The safer thing to do.

The realization shocked me. When had I become so cold, so calculating?

"Sometimes I think I'm losing sight of the line," I told Cas softly.

I knew Cas was frowning. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"The line. The point of no return. Sometimes I think I forget how far is too far. What if I'm getting too willing to kill?" I shifted position but didn't look at Cas directly, afraid to meet his eyes. "What if I'm changing, becoming-"

"Becoming what?" There was a small laugh on Cas's voice as he pulled my chin up so that I was looking at him. "Becoming evil? Lucy, I don't think that's possible."

I frowned. "You don't know that. You can't."

Cas smiled softly and kissed my nose. "I do," he promised. "You forget Lucy, I've seen your soul. And despite your hatred of the sappiness of this statement, you have a beautiful soul."

"Yeah, but how long has it been since you've seen my soul?" I asked. "I don't get hurt that often."

Cas shot me a disbelieving look. "You're kidding me, right?"

I giggled despite myself, kissing Cas on the cheek. Then I sighed, dropping back down to sprawl across his chest.

"Just promise me you won't let me become something I don't want to be. If I start to get too dark, you have to stop me. No matter what."

"It's not going to come to that," Cas said. He sounded deeply disturbed at just the possibility.

"Just promise me."

Cas sighed. "Fine. I promise. If you ever become evil, which will never happen, I will find a way to stop you."

"Even if it means killing me."

Cas said nothing, but I could feel him tense beneath me.

"Cas."

"I can't promise that, Lucy."

I propped myself onto my elbows. "You have to."

Cas shook his head, deep blue eyes wide. "No. I won't. Lucy." He cupped my face in his hands. "It will never come to that. You would never become something that needed killing. Love, you had the power of god running through your veins, you could have done anything, and yet you saved an innocent soul from hell and locked away the demons. Even when you were filled with the minds of thousands of angels, each without any regard for love or joy or sorrow, you managed to retain your humanity. Your kindness. There is no way you could ever become so dark, so different from that."

I bit my lip. "But what if I could?"

Cas sighed and drew me against his chest, tucking my head under his chin. "I won't let that happen," he promised. "And neither will you."

I sighed. He wasn't going to promise what I wanted. I knew it. Maybe I could get Sam or Dean to promise.

Yeah, that wasn't likely to happen either. They were all too pig headed.

I pushed that out of my head. Cas had promised that he'd do his best to keep me from turning evil. That, I supposed, was all I could ask for at that point. Hopefully it wouldn't come to needing anything more.

"Ok," I whispered. "Thank you."

Cas squeezed his arms around me in a hug. "Goodnight Lucy."

"Goodnight."

Cas turned off the light to the motel room, plunging us into darkness. Neither of us slept though, wrapped up in our own stormy thoughts of the future.