Hey
Show me one man that's never made mistakes
Oh,
And I'll pay
All of my time and every dime I made
But today

The best of intentions I lay at your feet
And I need you to see past the worst part of me

I'm tired of taking my aim
When I keep on missing
There's gotta be a better way
Gotta be a better way

And every little word I say
Keeps getting twisted
Coming out wrong
So baby hold on
I'm tryin' to hit the mark
But I'm shooting with broken arrows
It's like I'm shooting with broken arrows

BLOOD ON OUR HANDS

Shreveport, Louisiana

Beth's POV

The morgue technician pulled the drawer out of the refrigerated wall unit and I sighed, looking at the young man on the slab. He looked as if he was doing nothing more than taking a nap, apart from the fact that he had his chest sewn completely up the front of him from an autopsy – oh, and his eyes were completely missing.

"You say he was a suicide?" I asked and the technician nodded at me.

"Sure looks like it, though we're not why he would gouge out his eyes first, that just seems a little odd," she said and I scrunched up my nose.

"What was cause of death?" Dean asked, looking over at her.

"I'd say the twenty floor drop about did it," she said with a lopsided grin. I shook my head and noticed how she seemed to be flirting her ass off with my husband, who was of course, not my husband in this moment, he was my partner. I still didn't have to like it.

I nodded. "Thank you for your time," I said, starting to follow Dean as he turned toward the door.

"Anytime," she said with a wave of her hand and she covered the body up again with a sheet, sliding the door back into the unit with a resounding click.

I shuddered at the sound and kept walking, everything around me was on heightened awareness right now and I couldn't even explain why. It'd been over two weeks since I'd returned from Heaven and I still couldn't get back into the swing of things.

Dean waited at the door for me, and I took a moment to assess how he was doing. His eyes looked tired, and he was starting to get black circles under them. Neither of us was sleeping that much, on top of it we weren't doing much of anything else either and it was making for a very strained relationship right about now.

All I could think about what how he wouldn't be going through any of this if it weren't for me. If I hadn't made that deal which got Sam out of dying, Dean wouldn't have had to counter the deal with one of his own to save me from going to Hell. Life would be so much simpler. I didn't even want to think about my relationship with Sam.

We walked down the steps of the hospital and out to the car park in silence; the wind picked up and caught my hair from underneath, causing it to wash over my face and I pulled it all back with one hand, holding it in place.

"You know, this is not the first odd death in the last week around here, and not the first with a suicide involved," I said as we reached the car.

"Yeah, right. That.. uh... that couple in Hot Springs," Dean said with a nod.

"And another one in Jackson," I said, pulling out a map and spreading it over the hood of the car, marking the locations on the map.

"Whatever this thing is, it's on the move," Dean said, frowning at the map.

"Yeah, and it's heading south west... Hard to say where it might turn up next, or if it's moved on yet," I commented. He nodded solemnly, looking at the marks on the paper.

"Well these are all pretty major towns, there might be some in between too that could tip us off, other wise if the pattern sticks, he might be headed to either Dallas... or Houston, or anywhere in between," Dean said.

"We need to determine the timeframe, see if it's sticking around in one place for a few days," I said and he nodded.

Motel Room

Sam's POV

I stared at the screen in front of me, the pattern starting to take shape, and yet at the same time, it was so outrageously strange that I couldn't quite get it all sorted either.

Dean and Beth came in the door looking completely exhausted and I paused to wonder just how much sleep either of them had gotten in the last couple of weeks. I considered dumping them down in New Orleans to get in on some late Dia De Los Muertos celebrations, but I didn't think they'd take too kindly to that given our brush with Samhain over Halloween.

"Hey," I said, looking up at them. "So, I've pieced together a bit of a timeline and you're right, this creature is definitely on the move." I pulled out a stack of police reports that dated back the last month, and handed them to Dean who flipped through them.

"Reports going back to Pennsylvania... Nashville, Louisville, Cincinatti, Columbus, Pittsburgh...that seems to be where the path stops... or started, I should say." I said, watching Dean. "All vics have their eyes gouged out, and they committed suicide in some way... usually by violence such as jumping off a building or in front of a train, or turning a gun on themselves."

Beth shuddered and shook her head. "Great..."

"Well it's not one of those creatures from down south... you know, the ones that eat the eyes," Dean surmised based on that information. "After all, they also the teeth and nails."

"What? The Ahuizhotl?" Beth asked and Dean nodded.

"Yeah, that one." Dean said with a nod. We'd never come across one of them in our lives.

"I don't think they come out of South America," Beth said thoughtfully. Of course, we'd thought that about Chupacabra too, and they had been running rampart in the midwest until recently.

"So what else can cause these symptoms?" Dean asked and I shrugged, his guess was as good as mine.

"Well, I know a good place to start with the questioning," Beth said, looking up from a police report. "Apparently his fiancée witnessed the jump, and according to the police, she blamed herself."

"Really?" Dean asked and she nodded.

"Well, let's pay her a visit," I said, standing up and grabbing my jacket. If we were going to get to the bottom of this before anyone further got hurt, we'd have to move fast, according to the pattern there was likely to be two more deaths before we could kiss the creature good bye until it surfaced in a new town.

Magnolia, Arkansas

Dean's POV

The woman sitting in front of us looked distraught and broken, and I couldn't say as I blamed her given how her fiancée had bit the dust. She sniffed back another tear, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue while Beth sat with her at the kitchen table.

"And why were you visiting Shreveport, Ms Parsons?" I asked the woman, taking a seat at the table with them.

"We were going to the casino to celebrate our three year anniversary," she answered.

"I understand this must be very difficult Ms Parsons," said Beth, "...but can you tell us how Mr Brady died?"

She nodded at Beth and started to sob again and I exchanged a look with Sam who started to discreetly look around the house for any signs of a creature, though in all reality, it was more likely the creature might be at the hotel than here.

"It's Ellen," the girl clarified with Beth, who nodded a reply.

"Ellen, sorry" Beth said, smiling.

"He had been down at the blackjack tables, I'd joined him a couple of times, but I don't really enjoy gambling that much..." Ellen said and I noticed her left eye twitch, she was lying.

"We were down a couple hundred dollars but Eric kept insisting we could win it back," she said. She sighed and covered her face with a hand, shaking her head. "I went to the ATM to get some more cash, and that's when I saw her."

"Saw who?" I asked, confused.

"This woman, she was... beautiful, but haunting. Long red hair and pale white skin. She almost looked like a ghost, if you could believe that?" I nodded encouragingly, gesturing for her to go on. "Well, she looked right at me and then she started to cry... only it wasn't just cry... it was more like a... a wail. It was ear-piercing and when I looked around, no one else could hear her!"

"There were other people around you?" Sam asked, looking over from the living room where he was standing, he was frowning like he'd just hit upon what might be the creature.

"Yes, at least a dozen people," she said with a nod. "I was upset, so I went back to find Eric, only he was gone."

"Where was he?" I asked.

"He'd gone back to our room, which I thought was odd because he'd been waiting for me to come back with the money," she said.

"Is that where you found him?" Beth asked, and Ellen started to cry again.

"He was..." she looked at me and then back at Beth. "You have to understand... I love my fiancée, I would never do anything to deliberately hurt him. But... this whole thing, it's my fault."

Beth frowned and looked up from the notes she was taking. "I thought Mr Brady jumped from the window?"

"The roof, actually," Ellen said, dabbing at her eyes with a kleenex.

"Shouldn't that be sealed off?" I asked and she nodded.

"No one can explain how he got up there, I don't even know how it happened. One second he was in the room, and we were arguing, and the next he was walking out the door, and when I went after him, he'd vanished."

"Why do you say it's your fault?" Beth asked, looking at the woman.

Ellen looked up at Sam and then me, shifting uncomfortably. I considered this and then stood up, looking at Sam.

"Uh, Agent Hamill, would you come outside with me for a moment?" I asked. "I'd like to discuss a couple of other cases with you." Sam looked at me confused but didn't argue. Beth smiled at me as I stood up and looked down at her.

"You got this?" I asked and she nodded. Ellen smiled at me and nodded at her.

"Agent Fisher can finish getting your statement," I said to her and I turned to leave, wondering just what was so terrible that she didn't want to talk about it in front of Sam and me.

Beth's POV

Ellen waited for the boys to leave before looking at me.

"You're a woman," she said to me and I nodded.

"Last time I checked..." I said with a grin, and she giggled.

"I loved my fiancée, with all my heart, and there was no one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with..." she said.

"But?" I asked, because clearly there was one coming.

"But... when we were first dating... I was a mess. I had a gambling addiction, and lots of debts because of it. I owed one casino owner nearly ten thousand dollars, and there was just no getting out of it," she said.

I nodded, not saying anything.

"One night, he came to me, I'd been seeing Eric about three months and I knew he was the one. But this guy, he... he wanted his money, and when I couldn't pay he offered me a way out. Said he had a high profile player coming in to the casino who … wanted some company for the weekend."

I kept my face impassive, but the implications of what she was saying were starting to hit home.

"He was willing to clear your debt if you spent the weekend with this man?" I asked and she nodded, tears brimming in her eyes again.

"I told Eric I had to go out of town for the weekend, a family funeral, boring stuff, and I did it. I spent the weekend with the guy, and after that I never went back to a casino ever again," she said, wringing her hands.

"Until the weekend?" I asked and she nodded.

"Eric loves to play a bit of blackjack. I'd managed to avoid casinos for the whole time we'd been together, but he insisted. When I went to get the money from the ATM, Eric said some blind man came up to him and said I was hiding a deep betrayal from him."

I frowned, that was unusual wording for this day and age. "Did he use those exact words?" I asked.

Ellen nodded. "Yes, I thought it odd too, but as soon as he said it, I knew that he knew what I'd done. I begged him to understand but he refused to listen, asking me how could I do that? How could I prostitute myself out, and at the same time we were dating!" She sobbed into her hands and I reached out a hand to rest it on her arm, smiling sadly at her.

"He... he ran out of the room, and when I went after him, he was already gone. The next thing I knew there was a commotion and he'd thrown himself off the building. It was my fault." Ellen said.

I wasn't convinced it had been her doing that had driven this man to suicide, but I could see where she might think that and blame herself. The heart was a tricky thing. I understood only too well what it was to blame yourself for the torment of someone you loved. I struggled with it every day, watching Dean battle his demons and try not to trigger me with any further aggression.

"One more thing," I said to Ellen and she looked up at me. "This woman you saw, did she say anything to you?"

Ellen looked at me and nodded. "She said... she said 'Betrayer...'" She replied.

I frowned and then thanked the woman for her time, parting with my sincerest apologies. She looked at me and nodded, showing me to the door.

Impala

Sam's POV

"Wailing woman, that sounds like a banshee," Dean said as he pointed the car back toward Shreveport. Beth nodded, looking over at him.

"Yeah, but they don't usually speak," she said, and I had to agree.

"What the Hell does a banshee have to do with this case? They don't actually kill anyone...do they?" Dean asked.

I leaned forward and shook my head. "No, they're just harbingers of death, and they're usually tied to a specific family – as far as I can tell, none of the victims have anything in common like being related."

Dean sighed and thumped the steering wheel, looking ahead at the road. "So are we looking for a banshee or something else?" he asked.

"Well the only thing we've had any real lead on is the woman," Beth said quietly. "Although I'd like to see some of the video footage to see if anyone talked to Eric Brady while Ellen was away from the blackjack table."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Dean asked her with a grin and I rolled my eyes. Beth smiled back at him and raised an eyebrow in response.

"Oh man, this is great!" Dean said with a chuckle. "Did you bring your lucky black dress?"

"Dean, I don't have a lucky black dress!" Beth said with a shake of her head.

"Hmmm, well maybe we should fix that," he said with a grin and I rolled my eyes sitting back.

"We are meant to be working, guys..." I pointed out, and they both looked back at me.

"Yeah, I know that," Dean said, his eyes catching mine in the rear vision mirror. "But you know, there's... research and all that...gotta look the part." He chuckled again at some inside joke and I swear the car lurched forward in his eagerness to get us checked into the casino hotel.

"Well, while you contemplate the craps table, I'm going to point out that we have probably a matter of four maybe five days before this creature moves on. From what I can make out, it spends about a week in one place, and there's been three deaths at each location, each time." I said.

Beth frowned and contemplated this. "So Eric was number one?"

"Looks that way."

"Sounds like the place to be is the casino then," she said, and Dean nodded enthusiastically.

"Exactly what I was saying!" He said with another grin.

"Hey, so Sam, when we get there, you check out the security footage; I'm taking Beth shopping," Dean said and I looked incredulously at him.

"Shopping?" I asked.

"Yeah, Dean, I don't know about that..." Beth said, raising her eyebrow at him. "I think we should focus on the case."

"And we will be, we're going undercover! Come on!" Dean said and she sighed softly at him, her face softening.

It'd been a strange couple of weeks since she got back from being missing. Whatever had happened during that time, she had no memory of it other than to say she was caught in a dream world similar to when she'd been attacked by the djinn.

I did notice that things hadn't gone back to being business as usual with the pair of them. They hadn't gotten then own room yet, which meant things were stalling on the bedroom front, and Dean was tiptoeing around her trying not to trigger any further freak-outs from Beth, while she seemed to be battling demons of her own.

They were very uncomfortable to be around actually, and it made me think about how easy things had been when I'd been on my own, or with Ruby, for that matter. Doing my own hunts, not having to worry about my wayward siblings. It had felt good.

Same as usual, neither of them were talking about what was going on either, preferring to hide behind that false bravado that kept us all on tenterhooks.

I hoped they were going to sort things out soon, because it was driving me nuts! I resolved to get my own room when we got to the casino – if nothing else, it would give me the space to get my head around the case without having to listen to Dean going on about the craps table.

Casino Hotel
Shreveport, Louisiana

Dean's POV

I was pushing it, I knew that, but I had to; there was something stewing below the surface with Beth and naturally, I just wasn't going to let it go. If it had been anyone else I couldn't have cared less and would have left the Dr Phil routine to Sam, but this was Beth, and she didn't stew often so I knew something deeper was going on.

She was looking at the black dress I was holding up in front of me with a large element of hesitation and disbelief.

"Dean, I'm not wearing that!" She said, raising an eye at the low cut back which was even worse than the low cut front and short hem.

"Awwww, why not?" I asked with a grin and she couldn't help but smile back at me.

"We're working a job here, not looking to get laid!" She said and I chuckled.

"Why can't we do both?" I questioned, and she shook her head at me with another smile. She crossed to me from the rack of dresses she was standing by and captured my face in her hands, kissing me softly as she pulled my lips down to hers.

I moaned softly, leaning in to the kiss, forgetting about the dress as I slid an arm around her waist, pulling her in tighter to press against my body. She murmured softly in reply, arms coming up around my neck, and as I started to kiss my way along her neck she stiffened, pulling away slightly.

"Sorry," she said quietly, running a hand through her hair.

"It's okay," I said, frowning slightly and biting my lower lip. "What's going on Beth?"

"Nothing," she said, a little too quickly as she turned to look at some of the dresses on the rack next to me – now I knew she was lying.

"Yeah, okay, sure," I said dubiously, watching her. She fought back a couple of tears and then threw me a cheeky grin, pulling a red dress off the rack in much the same style as I was already holding, only instead of the back being completely cut out, it had a lace panel and something about that was even sexier than bare skin. I'd had a fetish for Beth in lace ever since her twenty-first birthday.

"What about this one?" She asked and I grinned.

"Even better," I said with a nod and she smiled, walking toward the counter.

"Of course I'll need shoes to match!" She threw back and me and I shook my head in amusement. At the end of the day, she was still a girl at heart.

Suddenly there was a commotion out the front of the building and I frowned, moving to the door as Beth presented a credit card to the cashier and paid for her dress. People were rushing toward the front doors and I peered out seeing Sam join them, his height a dead give away for the man.

"What's going on?" Beth asked as she rejoined me, noting the activity and I shrugged.

"Time to find out," I said, placing my hand at her waist and guiding us out into the lobby.

Sirens were wailing in the distance and a number of security guards were making their way to the scene, pushing back a crowd of spectators. I pulled out my FBI badge and wove through the people, flashing it at the security officers who let us through without question. Sam had done the same, and was now standing over a dead body sprawled across the marble floors of the lobby.

"What happened?" I asked as we reached him and he looked up, frowning.

"Guy just slashed his own throat in front of everyone," Sam said quietly and we gazed down at the red splatter across the floor and on a couch that was sitting in the middle of the lobby with palm trees either side. I leaned down to inspect the body and noted that his eyes, just like the last victim's were gouged out of his sockets. What had the power to do that? And why?

"Tom!" A woman's voice called out and she screamed when she saw the scene. I moved quickly, putting my arm around the petite young woman and pulling her away from the crowd.

"Agent Ford, Ms...?" I looked at her expectantly and she blinked, frowning.

"Uh, Hanniger, Mrs Hanniger" she said, shaking her head. "Gemma."

"Mrs Hanniger," I said with a nod. "I think it's best if you don't go over there," I said. "Do you know the deceased?"

"He's my husband!" She said, tears welling in her eyes. "We're, we're on our honeymoon."

I looked up and saw Beth walking down a corridor, hurrying as if something had caught her eye. Sam was conversing with a paramedic who had just started to arrive.

"I hate to ask, but did your husband have any mental issues?" I asked. "Show any signs that he might hurt himself?"

"No!" Gemma said vehemently, shaking her head. "No, he's just had a promotion at the bank where he works, we had the wedding, he's... he's happy..." she said softly, her voice trailing off as she started to sob, burying her face into my chest. I sighed and put an arm around her comfortingly.

"Is there anyone I can call for you Mrs Hanniger?" I asked and she shook her head.

"No, I'll uh, I'll call my sister myself," she said and I nodded, pulling back.

"Mrs Hanniger. Has anything strange happened to you during your stay here?" I asked, watching as her eyes narrowed while she took in this question. "Strange noises, flickering lights, cold spots maybe?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, nothing," she said and then she paused. "Well, there was this one thing," she said.

I nodded. "Go on..."

"There was this woman..." She said. "She came up to me in the lobby earlier and she was... making this sound... like a..."

"Like a wail?" I asked, looking at her. She nodded at me vigorously.

"Yes, exactly!" Gemma said.

"What did she look like?" I asked.

"Uh, red hair, white skin, thin, wearing a white dress," she said.

"Did she say anything to you?" I questioned.

"Yes, she did say one thing. She said 'betrayer'," Gemma said. And just like that she burst into tears. "How did she know?!" She keened and I frowned at her. Well that was unexpected.

Hotel Lobby

Beth's POV

Dean was quick to move the woman away from the scene of the death, and I watched as he led her to a corner, talking to her quietly. I scanned the faces of the people gathered, looking for any sort of clue as to whether any of them might have more information to impart, but everyone looked as shocked and startled as the woman had.

I sighed, turning to glance up at the clock on the wall and a flash of red caught my eye. I honed in and found myself staring down the corridor of the lobby toward a section of gaming rooms. As I watched, a woman turned – her hair red and long, flowing down her back. She was dressed in a white dress and her skin was as white as porcelain and I knew instantly it was the banshee.

Without explanation I pushed through the crowd, leaving Sam with the body, and started to hurry down the corridor. The woman walked slowly away from me and I called out.

"Hey! Hey lady! FBI, stop!" She continued to walk as I pulled my gun, pointing it at her. As I got closer and she refused to stop moving I called out. "These are iron bullets," I said and she stopped, turning to face me with a smile.

"Who are you?" I asked, and she looked directly into my eyes.

"Betrayer," she whispered as if she was looking into my soul. I frowned. What?

"What are you talking about?" I asked, but she said no more, starting to wail, a keening that echoed through my head as I grasped my free hand to my temples. It appeared no one around us could hear her as people continued to walk by as if we were just having a regular conversation, like they couldn't even see the gun I had drawn.

"Stop it!" I said, only to have the noise grown louder. I pointed my gun at her, taking a breath and concentrated. She watched me, and something flashed in the back of my mind. Banshees didn't talk, which made this all the more strange, it occurred to me that maybe she wasn't a banshee, and I had to know more. Taking a couple of quick steps toward her, I was going to attempt to cuff her, but she moved away as if floating on a breeze. With a smile, she turned and moved into a crowd of people.

I pushed through, badge out. "FBI, move!" I said, urgently looking for the red-headed woman, but she'd managed to slip from sight. I sighed, tucking my gun back into my waistband and shook my head. I needed to find Dean and do some research. I was suddenly struck with a fear that something horrible might happen to him, I wasn't the first one who had seen this woman, and who had heard the word betrayer.

Hotel Security Room

Sam's POV

I couldn't find Dean or Beth once the body had been cleared away so I decided to go and check out the security footage. A mid-aged man with an over-sized stomach let me into the room and started to pull up footage from the incident we'd just experience. While I was viewing that, he also pulled up the footage from the blackjacks table three days ago when Eric Brady had apparently been approached by someone.

"His fiancée was in the lobby at the ATM when a woman approached her around the same time, can you check those cameras too?" I asked and he nodded his agreement.

I used the controls to zoom in on the incident I had just left, I'd been seconds out from seeing it happen in person. I watched as Tom Hanniger got into an altercation with his wife, they argued and she stormed off and then suddenly his eyes lit up with a piercing white light and he yelled as if in pain, pulling a knife from his pocket and drawing it across his throat.

This was not something that was easily done, but Tom Hanniger wasn't just anyone, he was ex-marine and a hardened warrior, he'd just returned from a tour of Iraq. Police would be putting it down to a case of PTSD but I wasn't convinced, especially since no one could explain the burned out eyes.

Moving on to the footage of Eric I found the spot where he was at the blackjack table, talking to his fiancée. They got into an argument and then she left, presumably to get more cash for the table. He played a couple more rounds and then a tall man approached him wearing dark sunglasses and sporting a cane – he was blind – Bingo! He was regal looking, standing straight and upright, dressed impeccably in a black suit; the only strange thing about him was his extremely long hair. It was black and cascaded down his back, tied every foot with a clip so that he looked like he belonged in Ancient Greece or something. In spite of this, he didn't look out of place, and no one paid him any attention, except Eric.

The man walked up and touched Eric on the shoulder, and they looked at each other, the stranger speaking low and intently to Eric who suddenly stood up, looking shocked. He nodded and then walked away. I flipped to another range of cameras, watching as Eric left the casino and moved into the lobby, taking an elevator to his room. I looked at the timestamp on the video, it was about an hour before he would jump to his death.

I paused, frowning at the screen and thinking things through.

"Here's that footage you wanted," said the man next to me and I nodded as he pulled up several screens on the large viewer. Ellen Young was at the ATM taking money out when a beautiful pale woman approached her. She said something, a single word to Ellen, and then began to wail. True to her word, the people around them seemed not to notice, and yet cameras clearly picked up on the same thing Ellen was seeing.

The next bit of footage showed Ellen going back to her hotel room and entering, and fifteen minutes later Eric left again.

Security Room

Dean's POV

"Is it possible to see the cameras from an hour before this latest incident?" Sam asked as I stuck my head around the door to the security room and saw him receive a nod in reply.

"Which ones?" The man with him asked.

"I'm not sure, try outside their room, or maybe the lobby cameras."

I knocked to announce my presence and Sam waved me in.

"How's it going?" I asked and Sam nodded.

"Yeah, we found the guy, but we don't know what he was saying to Brady," he answered.

"Where's Beth?" I questioned, looking around the room.

"She isn't with you?" Sam asked absently, and I felt my heart skip a beat as Sam continued scrolling through a camera and then stopping it short, there was the same mysterious man from three days ago, this time talking to Tom Hanniger.

"There," Sam said. "That's him."

I leaned forward and frowned. "What's with the hair?" I asked. Long thick black hair tumbled down his back like he was an Arabian princess. It was tied back in seven long braids that hit the backs of his thighs when he moved. That was some seriously long hair, it was like the guy thought he was freaking Rapunzel or something, it was ridiculous.

"I dunno," Sam said thoughtfully.

"And he's the same guy who talked to Brady before he jumped?" I asked, Sam confirmed it with a nod.

"We need to find this guy," Sam said and I wholeheartedly agreed.

"You know I left Beth with you, did she say where she was going?" I asked, coming back to my original question. I didn't like it when she just disappeared like this, up until a fortnight ago, it never happened.

"No, I was checking out the body when she just disappeared," Sam answered, seeming unconcerned, which just irritated me to no end.

"Hey, buddy, can you pull up the lobby footage from the incident?" I asked the security guard with Sam and he nodded.

"Already up," he said helpfully, standing up and waving me into the chair he vacated. I took a seat, smiling my thanks and started to speed through the four different camera angles. When I saw the three of us arrive on the scene I slowed the camera down, watching as Gemma Hanniger broke through the assembled group and then started to scream. I saw myself pull her away and go off camera to speak with her, and I continued to watch as Beth scanned the area, looking for clues.

Suddenly she froze and then without warning she pushed her way through the crowd of spectators, hurrying down a corridor.

"There," I said, pointing to the screen. "Where does that come out? Can I see those cameras?" I asked.

Sam paused what he was doing and looked over, a frown on his face. "You got something?"

"Yeah, maybe," I said, waiting as the guard pulled up the relevant cameras. We all watched as Beth pulled her gun, pointing it at a red-haired woman, I saw her say a few words but no one seemed to notice her, it was as if she was talking to thin air. Beth hesitated, and then suddenly rushed forward.

I watched as Beth ran into the crowd, trying to get them to move, but was unsuccessful. She looked anxious, running a hand through her hair and even at this distance from the camera I could see her biting her lip. She was worried. Just what had gone on down there?

Finally after a few moments Beth headed for the elevator and I deduced that she was going back to our room. Why? Wouldn't she come looking for us? It made me feel nervous.

"Man, I gotta get up there," I said, I glanced over that the guard and quickly added something that didn't make me look like a worried husband. "...and see if she got any leads. Thanks for your help man."

I stood, looking at Sam who nodded and shook hands with the guard. "Thanks Ted, we'll be back to look at this again," he said.

"Anytime Agent Hamill," he said with a nod. "I'll be here."

I was already out the door, rushing to get to the elevators that would take us up to the floor our room was on. I felt sick with worry and I couldn't even tell you why, I just knew she wasn't in a good head space, that had been clear. I tapped my foot, watching the floors tick away as Sam stood infuriatingly calmly next to me.

"Relax, Dean, she's a big girl, she's probably just taking a shower or something," Sam said and I rolled my eyes. It was my job to look after her, not that I'd been doing such a crash hot job of that lately, but I was trying, I was more terrified that she'd been retreating, that I was losing her, and I didn't know what to do about that.

Motel Room

Beth's POV

I paced in front of the bed in the hotel room, glancing at the screen of the laptop that was sitting there every now and then. What the Hell was going on here? Who was this woman? And why had she called me a Betrayer? What was I doing here?

I thought back to the woman and frowned, rolled my neck to the left and then the right, stretching it out. I was so tense! She knew something about what was going on, I knew it, but I was having my doubts about her being a banshee. It just didn't fit.

The door to the room opened and I was relieved to see Dean walk through it.

"Hey," he said, smiling when he saw me, but his eyes said something more, he'd been worried because I'd just disappeared.

"Hey, sorry for taking off..." I said, moving to wrap my arms around his waist. It had been so long since we'd been able to just be comfortable in our own skin with each other, and I really needed it, but Dean was still anxious around me, and every now and then I remembered why that was, and I started to get antsy too. "I got a lead." He chuckled and nodded, putting his hands on his hips.

"I uh... well I saw something on the cameras, what was with pulling a gun on the red head?" He asked.

"Dean she was right in front of me, just like the others described, long red hair, white dress, pale skin. I pulled the gun with the iron bullets and threatened to shoot her, but she just smiled at me, she wasn't even scared.

"Did she said anything?"

"Other than to tell me 'Betrayer' ? No," I said, shaking my head.

"'Betrayer'?" Dean questioned and I nodded.

"Yeah, what does that even mean?" I asked.

"I dunno, but I don't like the sound of it. The latest victim's wife had a run in with this woman and she said exactly the same thing before he slit his throat." Dean said, looking down and brushing a stray hair out of my eyes. "No one saw the woman other than her too."

"Why are you worried about me?" I asked, looking at him. "It's the partners of these women who end up on the chopping block, we should be worried about you!"

He stopped and stared at me and then he smirked. "Oh yeah," he said, nodding. "Well that's not so bad."

"Not so bad?!" I asked incredulously. "Dammit Dean Winchester, you drive me wild sometimes," I said angrily, stepping back and crossing my arms. "How is you being in danger any better than it being me?" I asked.

He hesitated, looking at me and then sighed. "Yeah, okay, you're right, I'm sorry," he said, reaching out and taking my arms in his hands. "I'll be careful, okay?"

I nodded and then looked up at him.

"Did you find out anything else?" I asked.

"Sam took a look at the footage. There is a mysterious blinda guy running around in a black suit with the strangest looking hair. Looks like something out of a Rapunzel book or something," Dean said, frowning.

"Long hair?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Are you about to pull one of those walking encyclopaedia facts out of your ass?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe," I said with a grin.

Dean chuckled. "Well, what is it?"

"It's just, something about it seems odd. She's not a banshee, that much is pretty obvious because she speaks. She talks about betrayal, or alludes to the partner knowing about something anyway... with Ellen, she'd betrayed her fiancée when they were first dating by prostituting herself out to pay off gambling debts, what about the latest victim's wife?"

"Gemma?" Dean asked and I nodded. "Well," he said with a grin. "It took a little of my master charm, but I got the story out of her. Apparently while poor Hanniger was overseas serving his country, she was home serving his best friend a little on the side. She ended it when Hanniger got back from his tour, but he found out somehow, and that's what they were arguing about right before he slit his throat."

"Wow..." I said, a little dumbstruck. I couldn't imagine ever cheating on Dean, it wasn't even in my vocabulary, and it was the one thing I'd never really understood people doing to each other – if you loved someone, you loved them, you didn't want anyone else.

"So betrayal again."

Dean nodded and then looked curiously at me. "So, how have you betrayed me?" He asked, grinning at me. He slipped his hands around my hips and looked me in the eyes. "Did you and Jefferson have a fling while I was down below? Or maybe it was with a woman... like, oh man you're not sleeping with Cole are you?" I scoffed, rolling my eyes at the ridiculousness of either of those statements. "Or or... oh... it's not the pie is it? Tell me you 're not secretly having an affair with pie?"

I laughed and hit him, shaking my head. "Don't be silly."

"You don't have secrets from me," he said confidently, looking at me. I felt a tug at my heart and I knew that on the surface that was true, but deep down there were a lot of things that I didn't tell him, mostly it was nothing he would be surprised by, but I didn't tell him because I didn't want him to feel guilty, or in some cases, think less of me.

"Well a girl has to have some secrets," I said cryptically, smiling at him.

"Oh really?" Dean asked, looking me over with a smug look. "Not likely."

I smiled and turned back to the computer on the bed.

"You were about to get all geeky and dazzle me with your walking encyclopedia-ness," Dean pointed out and I nodded as Sam came in the door, shooting us a puzzled look.

"Oh, there you are," Dean said to his brother, waving him inside. "Beth was just about to enlighten us as to who the heck these guys are."

I rolled my eyes and chuckled as Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Well it's the hair that kind of gives it away," I said, looking at Sam.

"It does?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "There's not a lot of betrayed men running around with seriously gorgeous long hair."

"Wait, who said it was gorgeous?" Dean asked, looking at me suspiciously.

"I took a guess," I grinned at him. "Was I wrong?"

Dean and Sam exchanged a look that clearly said I wasn't and I smirked as they looked back at me, shaking their heads.

"Think Biblical," I said, more to Sam than Dean. "A man who was betrayed by his lover, a beautiful, stunning woman with hair that glittered like rubies. And she did it for nothing more than money," I said.

Sam scoffed, shaking his head. "Yeah, right."

"Well why not?" I asked, looking at him, seeing that he'd made the connection.

"Because he's dead, he was killed when the temple he brought down around him crushed him to death," Sam argued and I raised my eyebrow.

"Do we know anyone who was there?" I asked, crossing my arms. "How do we know he actually died? Maybe he's a supernatural creature, well... clearly he's something!"

Dean was watching this banter back and forth with a very confused look, and finally he held up his hand, shaking his head.

"Wait... wait wait wait, who are we talking about here?" He asked, looking first at me and then Sam.

"Samson," Sam replied, looking at his brother. "Right?"

I nodded, pretty much completely convinced of the fact. "Which makes the woman..."

"Delilah!" Dean said and I gaped at him, how did he know that?

Dean shrugged and threw me a cheeky grin. "I saw the film," he said.

"What film?" Sam asked

"You don't wanna know," Dean said and I rolled my eyes.

"Somehow I don't think one of your pay-per-view movies counts as hard core facts," Sam said and Dean looked offended.

"Hey, well there was some definite.. hardness... in the film, that much I can tell you!"

"Dean!" I chastised and he looked at me a little sheepishly.

"Look, there are like a dozen different stories of Samson and Delilah," Sam cut in, rolling his eyes. "How are we supposed to figure out whether any of them are true, and well, what are they after?"

"I don't know," I said. "But there are a few similarities in the stories. Samson was promised into the Nazirite lifestyle from birth..."

"Which means...?" Dean asked.

"No cutting of the hair and no alcohol for a start," Sam said.

"So what, they're hippies?" Dean questioned and I snickered.

"More like religious zealots," I said. "Anyway, he fell in love with a Philistine woman..."

"Delilah!" Dean said confidently and I shook my head.

"No, she comes later," I answered and Dean sighed. "All sorts of things go wrong, but long story short, his new bride betrays him by imploring the answer to a riddle and tells the Philistines who are baffled by the riddle and have threatened to kill the bride and her family. Samson of course realises she has told them, goes into a rage and kills the Philistines, taking off and when he comes back for his bride, she has been given to another man."

"Weird, but okay," Dean said, shaking his head. "So she's the betrayer?"

"Well, maybe, but it wasn't the betrayal that got him killed," Sam said.

Dean ran a hand across his face and looked fed up. "Can we get to the good bit then?"

"So Samson has pissed off the Philistines at this point," Sam said, nodding at me. I smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Eventually Samson falls in love with a beautiful woman, Delilah. She is approached by the Philistines and promised gold coin, and lots of it, if she were to discover the source of Samson's incredible strength." I said. "It's his hair, it gives him the power of God, and so cuts it herself before calling on the Philistines. They come, take him and humiliate him, gouging out his eyes and tossing him in the mines to work grinding grain for the rest of his days."

"What happened to her?" Dean asked.

"Nobody knows."

"You said he was supposed to be dead?"

"Well that's one of the stories, some say his hair grew back, others say that God took pity on him on last time, but whatever the case, during a temple session where they were going to sacrifice to their god as thanks for providing them with the downfall of their enemy, Samson pushed the columns of the temple they were in over and killed all the Philistines who were present. Hundreds of them. And killed himself in the process." Sam said.

"This isn't really gonna help us much," Dean commented and I had to agree.

"Yeah, but it's the best we've got. Look at how the eyes of the vics are gouged out," I said. "Almost as if re-enacting Samson's final demise."

"We have to get some answers ... how are we supposed to stop this guy?"

"I think I'm more concerned about the fact that she said the same thing to me that she did the other two women," I said, looking at Sam.

"What? She spoke to you?" Sam asked, and I nodded. "What did she say?"

"'Betrayer', not sure why that is, but the last few secrets have been enough to send our victims over the edge." I looked at Dean worriedly. There were a lot of things that might push him over the edge at the end of the day. I didn't see how any of them were related to me.

"Right, well, we shouldn't leave Dean alone at any rate, until we get to the bottom of this," Sam said and I vehemently agreed with him.

Hotel Lobby

Dean's POV

The last few hours had been sheer torture, listening to Sam and Beth trying to work out what was going to get us to the bottom of this case. I needed a drink. I slipped out of the room when they weren't looking and headed down to the lobby. I wouldn't go far, and I seriously doubted I was in any danger. It wasn't as if I didn't already know Beth's deepest darkest secrets, and she'd never betray me. I was good.

I hit up the bar, smiling at the woman behind it who was doing her best to tempt me with a low cut top and ear-to-ear smile. "Whiskey thanks sweetheart, straight up," I said with a grin and she nodded, pouring me a drink. I downed it and then indicated that I wanted another, receiving a sexy smile in return along with my drink.

I shifted a little uncomfortably, the attention was kind of nice for a change, and at least I didn't have to think about how at any moment I might trigger a flashback, but it wasn't Beth. I sighed, taking another drink and looking down at my wedding ring.

"Long day?" The girl asked, seeing the sigh but apparently ignoring the rest.

"Long month," I said, nodding at my empty glass, which she was quick to fill up again.

"Maybe you just need someone to help you take the edge off?" She said with a suggestive look. "I get off in half an hour."

I shook my head, smiling at her, looking at my drink and then back up into bright blue eyes. "Sweetheart, you're about seven years too late for that," I said, taking another sip of my drink. "

She looked disappointed, leaning in to me, her lips only a few inches away.

"That's too bad, shame to see a man as fine as you sitting alone at a bar," she said, giving me an appreciative look. "If it's been a bad month, shouldn't she be here helping you out? Or am I looking at the start of a seven year itch?"

I had a mouth full of whiskey and nearly choked it back when she said that, but I kept a straight face. Seven year itch? Really? Technically I'd been in love with Beth a lot longer than that, and we'd been dancing around each other for near on twelve years, but officially this was our seventh year of no longer having to fight Dad's rules.

"Thanks," I said, "But I think I'll take my chances with the itch." She raised her eyebrow and pulled back, licking her lips.

"Your loss," she said and I chuckled, nodding once at her as she went to go serve someone else. A hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder and I turned, expecting it to be Sam.

"Okay, little bro, I'm...holy shit!" I stopped short, looking at the man in front of me. Now I'm not small by any stretch of the imagination, but this guy towered above me, heck he'd have towered above Sam and he was like Bigfoot. He'd looked smaller in the video footage, standing here in front of me I realised he was a giant. Long black hair fell in waves down his back, tied into seven braids and he finished off the look with a snappy black suit, and of course the dark sunglasses and cane.

"Dude, I am so not in the mood for this," I said to him, downing the rest of my drink.

"You need to see where she has betrayed you," He said.

"Who, Beth?" I asked, assuming we were going down that route with this whole situation.

"They use you, they tell you they love you and then they betray you. Do you see it Dean? Do you see how she betrayed you?" Samson said, reaching forward and before I had a chance to raise my hand, he touched my forehead and it felt like a searing light passed through me. "Let me free your mind from this delusion she has placed on you."

I saw flashes of Beth's darkest moments, the things she saw as betrayals. The times Dad had made her keep secrets from me, she'd known about Dad and Cole long before I'd found out, and the date with that Ewan guy – when we'd clearly been hung up on each other though not officially dating, not to mention she'd gone on that damned angel mission without telling me and it had nearly gotten her killed, but I didn't see that as betraying me, more protecting me – plus, when Dad gave us an order...

One more moment flashed before me, and I gasped realising that she really had seen me when I broke, and the sense of betrayal that she felt over that, in not being able to get me out before that happened, in me being down there in the first place when it had been her deal to start with... but I shook my head.

"Dude," I said to Samson. "I know all this; you're not exactly bringing me a newsflash." Samson pulled back frowning at me. Once again he touched my forehead and I frowned, damn he moved fast.

This time something was different and I saw my own betrayals flash before my eyes. Lisa for a start, and betraying everything I'd felt for Beth just to get her out of my system for one night; having a son with Lisa and not being able to share that with my own wife because I couldn't protect her when she was carrying our own child; out-bidding her on the deal for Sam's life and leaving her here on Earth to go on without me when I'd promised I would never leave her – leaving her here to become victim to Sam's vicious verbal attacks; and then there was Ashmedai: branded and claimed by one of the wickedest demons there was with a penchant for doing sick and depraved things sexually to you and following up with inventive ways to make you scream from pain afterwards. All this had led me to attacking her when all she ever did was try to look after me.

The last one hit me the most, because there was nothing that excused what I had done to her. I would never forgive myself and it had me so far on edge because I was so scared it might happen again. Something popped in my mind and I felt all these emotions flow from me, as if water running out of a tap.

"Whoa," I said, staggering back and looking at Samson who was now frowning at me in confusion.

"You truly believe she has never betrayed you," Samson said with a frown.

"Oh that honour is all mine, Sammy boy," I said, reaching behind me for a knife the bartender had left on the bar after slicing some lemons. I had to cut off this guy's hair, simple really. He wouldn't even see me coming. Yeah, right.

I moved quickly, but not quick enough and with a flash of light, Samson propelled me across the room into a table. By the time I looked up he was gone. Damn the man could move for a blind guy.

Hotel Room

Beth's POV

I was standing at the table with Sam, looking over a couple of stories we'd printed on Samson and Delilah, debating whether we should be trying to do a summoning spell to trap one or both of them when it hit me. Like a wave of nausea, only this was vision and I saw it all flash before my eyes. Dean's heart breaking when he learned he was Ben's father, and the way he had looked at me, wishing it was with me. The loss of losing our own child and him being unable to protect me from that. My kiss at the crossroads with the demon and the panic that had clutched at his chest when he realised I'd sold my soul to bring Sam back from the dead. The dull ache and pain of marrying me, saying those vows and knowing in the back of his mind he would be dead in a few months but unable to let go. The tall slender demon who had broken him on more than one occasion, and finally claimed him with the red raw markings I'd seen branded down his shoulder, back and leg when Cas had used me as a vessel to pull him out of Hell, and the shame that went with it. Finally the terror of seeing me hurt, lying in his arms unconscious and knowing he had done that to me, and then finding me gone moments later without a trace.

I doubled over as if someone had just socked me in the gut.

"Beth?" Sam asked, looking at me and I gasped.

"Oh God!" I said, feeling all those emotions as if they'd just been transferred from Dean to me and then my own crashing down upon them. The guilt. The massive burden of knowing that if it hadn't been for me Dean would be all right. None of this would have happened to him, Hell, the demons, the torture, the nightmares – it wouldn't even exist, and it was all my fault that it did.

I fell to my knees, tears streaming down my face as I fought to take a breath.

"Beth!"

I could vaguely hear Sam's voice as he grabbed my arms, pulling me back to my feet and then sitting me on the edge of the bed.

"It's all my fault, Sam..." I murmured. "You were right...you were right. It's all my fault and I don't deserve him, I don't."

"What?" Sam asked, looking at me confused.

"He'd be okay if it weren't for me," I rambled, feeling the truth of this rush along my spine. "If I'd just left well enough alone, he'd be okay."

I threw myself back on the bed, rolling away from him and drawing a pillow in to my stomach, sobbing from the heartache of what I'd done.

Sam stood back looking down at me with a frown and then he moved away, pulling out his phone and walked out the door. See? I was right. My own brother believed that I was worthless and that I didn't deserve to be loved.

Hotel

Sam's POV

I watched Beth lying on the bed, almost hysterical and my heart sped up a little. She was sprouting the same stuff I'd yelled at her only a few months ago, and yet this time I saw the pain behind those accusations. I saw how much she'd been holding that. There was only one person who was going to be able to fix it.

Looking around I realised that Dean wasn't in the room. At some point he'd gotten up to go to the bathroom and never come back. I sighed at the bathroom door, more or less right next to the entry and realised he'd slipped out on us while we were talking. Grabbing my phone I threw one last look at Beth and walked out the door, dialling.

"Dean!" I said when he answered the phone. "Dean you need to get back up here."

"Yeah, no can do Sammy. I just saw Samson and I'm going to look for him, he can't have gotten far," Dean replied and suddenly it all made sense.

"Yeah, no, you need to get back here dude, now!" I said, running a hand through my hair.

"Sam, what did I just say? I'm not gonna hole up in some freaking hotel room..."

"It's Beth," I cut in and the line on the other end went quiet. "You need to get up here," I reiterated and then Dean's voice came back on the line, low and frightened.

"I'll be right there."

I hung up and went back into the room, sighing when I saw Beth was gone from the bed. Great.

"Beth?" I called out, not receiving an answer. I'd walked right past the bathroom and now I heard the water from the shower running. I moved back to the door and knocked. "Beth?" I tried the handle, it was locked, which was worrying because Beth never locked the door, even for me.

"Beth, open the door!" I demanded and all I could hear was desperate sobs on the other side.

Without warning Dean slammed through the hotel room door, almost colliding with me as I rattled on the bathroom door again. He took one look at me and his eyes flooded with worry.

"Beth?" He called out, trying the handle and finding the same thing I had. "Beth, baby open the door!" More sobs and then suddenly Dean's eyes turned to look behind me, widening.

Hotel Room

Dean's POV

Clearly Beth had locked herself in the bathroom, and that had me worried. A flash of red appeared behind Sam and I looked up to see the very woman that everyone had been describing to me, the woman from the video footage.

"Betrayer," she whispered to me and I lunged, not even thinking. All I knew is that we had to get her, she would have answers. Sam didn't see her, and I realised there must be some sort of enchantment around her, one that didn't allow anyone other than those who had been touched – whether directly or indirectly – by Samson.

"Get that door open now!" I yelled to Sam as I tackled the woman to the ground. I don't think she was expecting it, because she let out a surprised gasp as I rolled us, getting her face down in the carpet and pinning her arms behind her. I pulled her to a standing position, holding firmly to her wrists as I heard the bathroom door crack and open, looking back to see Sam slam his shoulder into the wood, breaking it down.

Opening the weapons bag I pulled out silver and iron chains, I wasn't taking any chances. Flinging the woman into a chair I encircled her with the chains, tying her to the arms. She glared at me but my focus was on the bathroom.

"Dean!" Sam called out to me and I ran in to find him with his arms around Beth, she was in the shower, fully dressed, long bloody cuts slashed into her wrists as water cascaded down on her.

"No…" I shook my head, and Sam stood with her in his arms, carrying her past me to the bed.

"Get the first aid kit," he said and I froze.

"Dean! Now!" Sam yelled and it forced me to action.

I pulled the kit out of another bag and brought it over to him.

"They're not that bad," Sam said, applying gauze and then a bandage to each wrist. "But she's lost a lot of blood, we need to get her to the hospital."

I hesitated, looking at Beth unconscious on the bed, and then my eyes wandering to the women tied to the chair. Sam looked up and saw her, his eyes widening.

"Is that?"

"Yeah. You can see her?"

"I can now," he replied with a nod. Interesting. Maybe those chains did do something then.

"I need answers, take her to the hospital…" I said and Sam hesitated.

"Dean…"

"Go!" I ordered him, he wasn't going to like what I was going to do to this woman if she didn't come up with information.

Sam nodded and left, and I turned to look at the red head before me.

Hospital

Sam's POV

The ER was busy, but when I showed them the cuts in her wrists and how pale Beth was looking, flashing my FBI badge as well, they found us a cubicle and hooked her up to some fluids and patched up her wrists. I watched anxiously as a nurse spoke to Beth who had regained consciousness, and was crying softly into a pillow.

A doctor came and pulled me away, telling me that she was going to be all right, the cuts weren't that deep, as I'd suspected, and she likely wouldn't even need blood, just a top-up of fluids via the IV they'd hooked up in her elbow.

There was a clatter of dishes falling and I turned in time to see Beth pull the IV out of her arm and grab her jacket, running for the stair exit. I chased after her, and I hit the door hard as people gasped around me. Beth stopped on the landing, turning wide eyes to me that were starting to glow golden.

"Beth, you need to calm down," I said to her, reaching out a placating hand.

She pulled a gun out and held it under her chin, shaking her head.

"Beth, Beth you're under some kind of a spell, you need to give me the gun," I said, taking a few steps down toward her. She backed away, shaking her head.

"I don't deserve to live," she whispered. "You're right Sam. I'm poison, I betrayed Dean in the worst possible way."

"No, Beth, you didn't. Dean loves you, he would never see it like that. He doesn't blame you for anything," I said. I knew in my heart that he didn't, he blamed himself, always taking the blame whether it was warranted or not – that's what he did.

"He's broken Sam, and it's because of me."

"And you think killing yourself is the answer?" I put to her. "How is he going to get any better without you?"

"But all I do is cause him more pain! He'd be better off without me!" She said. "When I'm around him all he sees is the torture he went through in Hell, when I touch him, all he feels is what they put him through. He reacts, and he hurts me, and then he blames himself, but it's my fault."

"Beth, come on. You know that's not true."

"He deserves to be happy, after everything he's been through. He won't get that with me," she said and I shook my head, watching as that yellow glow started to get brighter in her eyes. I started to wonder when the gouging of the eyes occurred and realised it must be upon death, so I was now using the light as a gauge as to where she was emotionally.

"Are you kidding me?!" I asked. "Beth, you're the only one who makes him happy."

"Lisa could," she whispered, tears in her eyes. "He could be happy with her, and Ben."

"No Beth, he couldn't. She's not you," I said. She wavered, the gun starting to shake from the exertion of holding it under her chin.

"She's not you Beth," I reiterated. "You're the one he wants. You're the only one he's ever wanted."

Tears streamed down her face again and she shook her head.

"That doesn't make me good for him."

"Would you listen to yourself?" I said, taking a couple more steps, this time she didn't move away. "Beth, Dean is up in that hotel room now, fighting for you. He's not doing it for anyone else."

She trembled, biting her lip and I saw the light start to fade a little. I was getting through to her.

I realised with a start just how much she'd been putting herself through. The pain that my words had caused her, and I felt a jolt of guilt. All this time she'd been feeling just as guilty, if not more so, than what I'd accused her of. No wonder she'd run away, other than the fact that I'd sent her away, no wonder she had reacted so violently to what I'd said – she was already feeling it, she had already been blaming herself, and then I'd just confirmed it all for her.

"Beth I was wrong," I said to her, and she stopped, looking at me. "It's not your fault. You were just doing what you thought you had to do, to protect me, to protect Dean."

She let out a heart wrenching sob and I moved, grabbing the gun and taking it from her, tucking it into my jeans and pulling her into my arms.

"I'm sorry Beth," I said, holding her as she wrapped her arms around me and cried.

Hotel Room

Dean's POV

"Thanks Sammy," I said, hanging up and looking over at the woman again. Beth was okay for now, but Sam wasn't sure how long that would be. They'd had to sedate her to keep her calm, and she was now under 24-hour surveillance by none other than Sam himself, but she was alive, and I planned on keeping her that way.

"All right," I said, moving to stand in front of the woman. "I want some answers… Delilah."

Her eyes widened when I said her name and she looked curiously at me.

"You know who I am?" She asked, and I nodded, thankful she wasn't speaking some weird archaic language. I might have been able to handle a little Latin, but anything else was the domain of Beth or Sam.

"Now what have you done to my wife?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said to me.

"Don't lie to me! She wasn't suicidal until she came across you, now whatever you did to her, you undo it, or you're gonna wish you had." I said.

"I swear, I didn't do anything to anyone," she said.

"Then why are you here? What's with the 'betrayer'?"

She fell silent and I sighed, walking over to tower over her, leaning on the arms of the chair.

"You're going to tell me, one way or another," I said, and she started to look genuinely scared.

"I swear, I don't do anything. The only people who can ever see me are people who have betrayed their loved ones in some of the worst ways possible. I get visions, I see the betrayal they commit, and it kills me every time. I don't know why I need to say it to them, but I do, I'm compelled, almost as if under a spell. I turn up in places, I don't even know why."

I frowned. What did she mean, she didn't know why? Wasn't she working in cahoots with Samson to kill people?

"What is Samson's role in this?" I asked

She looked sadly at me, her eyes filled with tears. "Samson? Samson died a long time ago, and I was the reason, I was the woman who betrayed him. Now all I see are other women who betray their lovers, and it reminds me of the pain I put him through. I am cursed, doomed to walk this world without the one who made me complete, all because I made a promise to avenge my family."

I fell silent; she seemed to honestly believe what she was saying.

"Have you seen the effects these people you speak to encounter?" I asked, talking about the suicidal death wish, and she nodded.

"How can I stop them?"

"Only the truth can set you free, young warrior," she said, looking at me. The truth? What the hell was she talking about?

Hospital

Beth's POV

Sam was talking on the phone and I heard him telling Dean that I was all right. I smirked, yeah right; nothing was right about this whole situation. I looked forlornly at the bandages on my wrists and thought about how I couldn't even get that right. Nothing I did was right, all I did was hurt the people I love.

First John had sold his soul to bring Dean back from the dead, but it had been the Colt he'd initially offered, and the Yellow-Eyed Demon would have taken it, I know he would have, he'd wanted it to open the Devil's Gateway. But stupid me, I'd followed John down there and gotten caught, and then John sold his soul to stop anything happening to me.

Then there was Sam, and all I wanted to do was fulfil the promise I'd made to John, to protect Sam and keep him safe. Well I'd done that, and I'd sold my soul to do it. I hadn't banked on Dean coming in and trumping the deal. It had all gone downhill from there – I'd failed to save him from going to Hell, I'd failed to get him out before he was tortured to the point of breaking, and I'd failed to help him through it now he was free.

I sighed, looking out the window, my heart aching. Dean deserved better than me, he deserved to be happy, I couldn't give him that. Everything I did made things worse. If I was gone, maybe he could move on, maybe he could get out of hunting, be with Lisa and Ben, and start a real life.

Sam was refusing to leave me alone. He sat in the chair or paced the room and I steadfastly ignored him. He'd been right all along, and I think that pain hurt more than anything.

The door to the room creaked open and I saw Sam breathe a sigh of relief, walking quickly to greet our brother as he stepped into the room, looking at me with loving concern.

"Did you find out anything?" Sam asked and he nodded, still looking at me.

"Yeah, can you uh, can you go get us a couple of coffees, I need to talk to Beth," he said and Sam nodded, taking the hint. He left and Dean stepped up to the bed, taking my face in his hands and staring down at me.

"What were you thinking?" He asked, his voice low and scared.

"I can't do this anymore Dean," I whispered.

"Do what?" He asked. "Hunt?"

I shook my head and shrugged. "Everything, it hurts too much."

"Baby, it's just a hallucination, or something. It's not real," he said, sitting on the bed and caressing my face.

"I saw it Dean, I saw what you felt, how you feel like you hurt me."

"Betrayed you," he said and I frowned.

"No, no if anything I betrayed you, I should never have let you make that deal, I should have stopped it."

"I'm a big boy Beth, I can make my own decisions."

I sobbed again, covering my face with my hands.

"Look, I don't know what's going on here, not really, but there are a few things you do need to understand. You didn't betray me, you didn't fail me, you didn't do anything except love me, and I know that Beth," he said, lifting my watery eyes to look into his.

"But, Dad… he told me…"

He watched me, and I saw the conflict settling behind his eyes, he leaned in and kissed me softly before pulling back.

"I lied to you," he said and I frowned.

"What?"

"I lied to you, when I said I wouldn't have done the deal of my own accord," he clarified and I felt my mouth drop open. He reached out, brushing a hand along my cheek and I leaned in to the touch. It had been so long since we'd just touched like this.

"It's Sam, Beth, and no one knows the struggle you have with Dad's orders more than me. I love you, I love you, but just like you I would have eventually laid it all on the line over that ridiculous promise we made him. And I would have been wrong to do that, we were wrong to have done that. Maybe we should have just let him go, but …"

"But it's Sam," I said softly and he nodded, tears in his eyes.

"You trumped my deal to keep me safe too," I said and again he nodded.

"I would do anything for you Beth, and I'd do it all again, even knowing what I know now."

My heart was racing and I could feel the blood pumping under my skin. We were so broken.

"I don't help you Dean," I said and he looked at me with a frown. "All I do is make things worse."

"Don't say that," he said softly, leaning his forehead to mine. "That's not true and you know it, it's just your fears. If anything this whole thing has shown me just how messed up we are, and how Dad really had no right to put that on us – we were teenagers! Hell I was a kid when it started."

I felt the tears starting to build again and blinked a few times, trying to keep them at bay.

"What I'm trying to say… I messed up Beth," he said, looking at me.

"I should have taken that burden from you. I should never have let you feel as if the only option we had was to be here, looking after Sam. Those three years when he was in college, they were some of the best years of my life because it was just us. And it's just all gone downhill since Sam came back, but he's our brother and we are always going to look after him…" I nodded at this statement, of course we were: a tiger didn't change his stripes.

"But?" I asked, because I could hear it there in his voice.

"But you should be my priority. We should be each other's priority because it just works when we're together. When we're apart we fall apart, and nothing seems right." I swallowed hard, barely believing what he was saying. Dean had said some of this before, about getting out, having a real life, but it was often around keeping Sam safe – even when he'd said we should get out when I was pregnant, we'd still been talking about how it would keep Sam away from danger.

I remembered what he said to me, when we'd gone back in time, when he realised Mary hadn't wanted him raised a hunter, and he'd promised me we'd get out, raise a family. He'd meant it, and Sam hadn't even been mentioned. Things had changed for him since Hell, and I hadn't even seen it.

"I just want you Beth," he said. "I spent forty years away from you; I couldn't bear it if you left me now. I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry I'm a mess, but please, just give me some time. Don't give up on me."

I moved, tucking my legs under me and coming to kneel in front of him on the bed.

"I would never give up on you Dean," I said, resting my hands on his shoulders.

"You've been so distant," he said softly.

"I know, I know and I'm sorry. I was just … do you really not blame me? Because I'm the reason you went through all that… you wouldn't have been down there, none of these flashbacks, none of it would be happening if it weren't for me." Slowly I started to see it in his eyes. He truly didn't think it was my fault, if anything, he thought I should run from him, and was begging me not to.

A ripple of love washed across me and I realised how stupid we'd been. All this time we'd been blaming ourselves; when at the end of the day it was just life, and we were just doing the best we could at the time.

I pulled his face in to mine and licked along his lower lip slowly, tasting and teasing. When he let out a little sigh I leaned further into the embrace, my lips catching his as I softly sucked along his beautiful little pout and then slid his tongue in the gap between my lips, flicking across the tip of my tongue and then deepening the kiss. I was glad I was kneeling because if I'd been standing I would have fallen over, weak at the knees.

"Do you feel better?" Dean asked as I pulled away. I sat for a moment, feeling lighter and happier than I had in a long time, and with a smile I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Thank God," he said with a smile. "Because I really didn't want to have to cuff you to me."

I chuckled and then stuck my bottom lip out in a pout which I knew he loved. "Awwww," I said, smiling at him. "You saying you don't want me with you?"

Dean sucked in a breath and went to defend what he'd just said, thinking I was upset when I giggled. He stopped and shook his head at me, rolling his eyes.

"Didn't I just make myself clear what I wanted?" He asked and I nodded demurely, tilting my head to the side and flashing him an innocent smile.

"God I love that smile," he said and it made me smile even harder.

"And I love you," I said, leaning and kissing him again.

For the first time in a long time I felt like it actually might be okay, like just once we could get on top of things.

"Can I get out of here now?" I asked and Dean hesitated, looking at my wrists and the IV that was attached to my arm. "Please Dean?"

He sighed and nodded, saying he'd check with the doctors. I was excited to be leaving with him, thinking about how we should go away and spend a few days together, just the two of us, nothing to do but just love each other. That's when reality crashed down a little. We were on a case, one that hadn't just miraculously been solved over a heart to heart conversation.

I sighed and sat on the bed, looking at my hands. Well, that was okay, I told myself, there was plenty of time for that.

Dean came back with a doctor who looked me over and then sat with me for another half hour, talking about how he couldn't stop me if I wanted to discharge myself, but I should not be left alone at this crucial period of time, this time looking at Dean who nodded.

An hour later we were on our way out the door and to the Impala, my arm wrapped tightly around Dean's waist as we walked.

Hotel Room

Sam's POV

We'd gotten back from the hospital, and to be honest I'd been surprised that the doctors had let Beth go, but she was completely different. Whatever Dean had said to her had helped and she was like a totally different woman.

Dean had left Delilah tied up to the chair and she looked up as we came in, smiling when she saw Beth.

"You're all right," she said, seeming relieved which I found strange, hadn't she been trying to kill Beth?

"No thanks to you," I commented and she turned wary eyes toward me.

"I did nothing to your sister," she said carefully. "I only revealed the pain that she was not wanting to look at."

"The pain you live with," Beth said, sitting next to her and looking inquisitively at the woman. She nodded.

"What happened?" Beth asked, and I watched as Dean stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders. She smiled up at him and I felt relief wash through me, they hadn't touched or looked at each other like that in weeks, walking around on tenterhooks, scared to say boo. Finally, maybe we could start getting things back to normal.

"With Samson?" Delilah asked. Beth nodded.

She smiled, and gestured with her hands. "Is this really necessary?" She asked.

"Yes," I said and Beth threw me a glare.

Looking up at Dean I started to think I should take it back, the one thing about them being at odds with each other, at least they hadn't been ganging up on me. Now it seemed I was back to being outvoted. Yet Dean surprised me.

"Story first, sister. Then we'll see," he said and Beth sighed apologetically at Delilah who smiled back.

"All right. You know the story of Samson from the various sources?" She asked and Beth nodded. "A lot of it is true, his first bride, the slaughter of the Philistines, his Godly power that no man could rival. Of course they got my side… somewhat correct, but made me out to be a whore, which I wasn't."

I scoffed, like anyone actually admitted to being a whore.

"Go on," Beth urged.

"I was a simple girl, with a family, and my brother was one of the men Samson murdered during his rage at the wedding. My father was beside himself, and when Samson noticed me in the market square one day, following me and asking me to join him for a meal, my father acted on it. He made me do it, even though I didn't want to, he made me promise that I would do everything I could do seduce Samson and discover the secret of his power, so that our family could have its revenge."

Beth swallowed, tears in her eyes and looked at her. "You understand?" Delilah asked and both Dean and Beth nodded. "Even you understand, young Sam," she said, and I had to admit that I did.

"Little did I count on actually falling in love with him," she said, looking down sadly, tears brimming in her eyes. "I tried to get out of it, but my father, he was set upon it. He told me I must or he would reveal my betrayal to Samson regardless and I would lose him either way for he would know it was his wife who had shared his secret, and only one way would betray my family. I had made a promise, and one night I convinced Samson to tell me the secret to his strength."

"His hair," Beth said, and she nodded.

"He'd never cut it, his parents had made a covenant with God to give him strength and protect him so long as he never cut his hair." I nodded, we knew this much about the story.

"And you told your father?" Dean asked, looking at her.

"Yes, he and my brothers came, and they made me cut his hair while he was sleeping, and once he was powerless they bound him, and they… they gouged out his eyes and humiliated him before our people before tossing him in the grain mill to work. I wasn't allowed to see him, and the last thing I remember before they took his eyes was the look of utter betrayal he gave to me, and his… his wail of anguish."

She started to cry and Beth looked saddened by this.

"I ran away, I couldn't live with what I had done, and I wandered into the desert to die. But God wouldn't let me. For millennia I have tried to die, countless times, but he will not take me, he has cursed me to live forever without the one man who ever made me happy." Delilah said.

"But you're with him," I pointed out and she looked up confused.

"Yeah, uh, about that," Dean said, scratching his ear and giving me a warning look.

"Ixnay on the Amsonsay," he said under his breath and I stopped. She didn't know.

"She doesn't know," I said and Dean rolled his eyes at me, tossing his hands in the air.

"Know what?" Delilah asked, her eyes bright and shining with tears.

"Delilah… Samson didn't die, in the temple," Beth said softly. "I don't know how, or why, but you two are unable to see each other, yet you circle each other like the moon and sun circle the earth, forever just out of reach."

"They are bound by their marriage vows," I said. "They didn't use to add the 'until death do us part,' back in those days." I looked at Dean and Beth, they hadn't either, now I thought about it, their souls would be forever bonded, just like Samson and Delilah.

"So where his soul goes, hers will follow, or vice versa, depending on who is the dominant in the relationship, which I'm guessing is him." I said.

"He's here, now, running around and telling various men all about how their women have betrayed them, and when they hear his truth, it is so powerful and so shocking, they just want to kill ourselves," Dean said. Delilah shook her head in disbelief, her long red locks cascading over her shoulders.

"And their eyes, they are burned out as they die from seeing the truth of the situation," Beth said softly.

"And you play a part too," I said. "You are drawn to the women, for whatever reason."

"My love is alive?" Delilah asked, looking at us with hope in her eyes.

"Yes," Beth said, nodding. "And he is hurting people, we need to stop him."

"I can stop him, if you take me to him," she said.

"I can't see why that would work," I said sceptically.

Dean and Beth looked at me and I shrugged.

"Guys, he's running around trying to save other men from enduring his fate, doesn't really sound like he's over it himself, why would he listen to her?" I asked.

"He has a point," Dean said.

"No…" Beth said softly, looking up. "I think she's right, I think she can help."

"How?" I asked, throwing my hands up in the air. This was ridiculous.

"The truth will set you free, right?" Beth asked and I frowned, Dean had said Delilah told him that when he asked how get Beth out of the delirium she was in, and I had to admit, it had worked.

"Look, guys, we can't afford to have them disappear again…" I said.

"I won't," Delilah said. "I just need to talk to him."

Dean looked sceptical, and then Beth stood up, running a hand down his arm.

"We have to try," she said.

I shook my head, this was a mistake, but Dean was going to cave, any minute now.

Hotel Lobby

Dean's POV

This was kind of crazy, but I didn't have any better ideas, so now it just came down to hoping that there was still one or two men left in Shreveport who had major betrayals going on in their lives by their women.

We were standing around in the lobby, waiting to see if Delilah suddenly felt pulled toward any woman in particular, or if any of them noticed her, because most people couldn't even see her. We'd been here an hour when I started to think this was a dead end. Suddenly Delilah gasped and pointed at a dark haired woman wearing a head scarf and sunglasses. "Her!" She said, and she started to wail, seemingly unable to stop herself. "The betrayer!"

Sam and I instantly went into overdrive, walking over to the woman and flashing our FBI badges. When her husband appeared from parking the car, we explained that they were in danger, and we needed to escort them up to our room, where they would have FBI protection. The man, Arabian in appearance started to argue until Sam gave him the glare, and he fell silent, following behind us as his wife spoke to him in another language.

Forty-five minutes later I was starting to get antsy again, pacing the room.

"This isn't gonna work," I said to Sam. "He didn't come up to me until I was alone in the lobby." Sam sighed and nodded, indicating that he agreed with me.

"I want to make a phone call!" The man said. "My luggage, it is still downstairs with the valet." We nodded and told Beth to stay with the wife.

"Uh, I don't think so! I'm coming with you," she said and Dean sighed.

"Well you might not get to catch him, Delilah needs to be there," Beth added and I kind of saw her point. We would all need to go together.

So here we were again, all of us in the lobby, watching and waiting as the man made a call to someone, talking urgently on the phone.

Without warning or cause, Samson appeared behind him, a few feet away and Delilah gasped at the sight of him.

"Samson…" she said, stepping forward and reaching for him.

He froze, hearing her voice and then looked around, even though it was clear he was blind.

"My love?" He said quietly and with that, she took a few more steps toward him, reaching a palm out to his cheek. "Is that truly you?"

"It is," she said, resting her hand against him.

He paused, hand extended in the air and a number of emotions ran across his face. He hesitated, and then turned toward her, I stood on alert, ready to tackle him and cut his hair.

"You're alive?"

"I have been alive for centuries, living with the pain I caused you," Delilah replied and he looked pained and nodded.

"Samson… can you ever forgive me?" She asked, and I raised an eyebrow. Well, that was short and to the point.

He said nothing for the longest time and we all held our breath, and then suddenly he removed his glasses, and instead of empty sockets there were eyes full of tears. He looked at her and touched her face.

"The first face I have seen in many lifetimes, and the Lord has seen fit to make it yours," he said, leaning in to her. "I forgave you a long time ago, my love."

"Wait, wait, wait… hold on a minute," I said, stepping forward with my hand stretched out. "You…" I said, pointing to Samson. "You're not angry at her?"

He shook his head at me and then smiled. "I was, for a long time, but then I saw my arrogance, the pain I had caused all those families, and I realised that she had every right to betray me and take her revenge."

"It was never my idea," Delilah said and he smiled down at me.

"I know."

"So uh, why are you doing this, to these men?" Sam asked, pointing to the Arabian man who was now backing away with his wife and Beth was letting them go.

"I simply wish for them to see the truth, it is up to them what they wish to do with it," Samson said, looking at me. "I have never seen one so effortlessly accept the blame as you however."

I shrugged. "Like I said, we're messed up, it's a family thing," I said and Beth chuckled beside me, slipping her arm around my waist.

"It is time to go, love," Samson said to Delilah and she nodded.

"Wait, go where?" I asked, frowning. "You can't keep doing this to these people, if they are being betrayed, well, then it's up to them to find out in their own way."

Samson gestured for the knife I had tucked in my jeans.

"Your knife," he said, and for some reason I just handed it to him without question.

"Would you do the honour?" Samson said to Delilah, handing it to her. At the same time he rolled up his sleeve of his right arm and I sucked in a breath. On his arm were inscriptions, symbols burned into his skin just like they had been on mine, only the ones I'd received in Hell were very different, these almost looked like they were gilded in gold whereas mine had been carved in blood. I shifted uncomfortably, feeling the itch in my skin where they'd once been.

Delilah walked behind him, and with the knife cut all seven braids from his head, one by one. As each braid was cut, a symbol faded from his skin, until there was nothing left.

"I have neither the power to harm others now, nor the inclination," Samson said, handing me the knife and the braids. "I simply wish to live out my days with the love of my life," he said, looking at Delilah, who smiled tearfully and put her arm around him.

I felt my heart tug and looked at Beth, he wasn't the only one who felt that way. Luckily for them, their mission was done, and while every bone in my body was telling me to kill them because they were monsters, Beth's hand on my arm stayed me, and I let them go, nodding at Sam to do the same.

Together these two giants of mythology walked arm in arm out of the hotel, fading from sight as they crossed the road into the park. I breathed a sigh of relief that it was over and Sam looked at me.

"Do you think that was wise?" He asked.

"I don't know, Sammy, but I do think it was right," I said quietly.

Hotel Room
A few hours later

Beth's POV

Dean was in the shower when I came back into the room, I flipped on the bedside light and it still did very little to illuminate the room. It was too dark, I felt like a weight had been lifted a little from my heart, and I wanted to enjoy the sunshine. Moving to the windows I pulled the curtains back, flooding the room with light and smiling. That was much better.

I moved over to the bathroom door, hesitating at the door and then letting myself in, expecting the usual quirky smile from Dean whenever I interrupted one of his showers, it inevitably led to an invitation to join him which I was always quick to take him up on.

This time however it was different. He didn't even look up when I walked in and I could see him furiously scrubbing away at his right shoulder and down his arm. I frowned and took a few steps toward him, not wanting to startle him – he hadn't even acknowledged my presence, which likely meant he hadn't heard me.

I watched as he took a backscrubber and started to scratch at his arm with it, grunting and then I heard a gut-wrenching noise that was somewhere between a whimper and a sob.

"Dean?" I said softly and he looked up at me, eyes frantically looking around and then he closed them for a second before opening them again to look at me.

"I can't get them out," he said, and I looked at him, starting to worry.

"Get what out?" I asked, moving to the glass door and looking in at him. He opened the door and showed me his right arm, red from the furious brushing he had been giving it.

"Ashmedai, she... can't you see them?" He asked, and I shook my head, running my hand along his arm which was not only slick from the water, but I suspected a bit of blood too as it was so red and raw.

"No, Dean, I can't. There's nothing here," I said softly and he sucked in a sharp breath, eyes looking pained as he leaned back against the tiles.

"She's branded me, she said I'd never be able to escape her," he said and I stopped, thinking back to the dream I'd had, the experience of finding him atop a mound of tortured souls, markings etched into his skin, bloody and raw. No, not a dream, it had been when Cas had walked the very bowels of Hell to pull him out with the help of my body.

"They're no longer there, Dean," I said, reaching out a hand to brush it along his face. He leaned in to the touch.

"Yes they are. I can feel them."

I hesitated, not sure how I could help with this one. Then I took a step into the large shower with him, letting the water course along the t-shirt and jeans I had on. It was the only way I could think to keep this non-sexual, to move it to somewhere else. Dean looked at me confused, and I brushed my hand along his face again, leaning in to kiss him softly.

"Let me help," I said, and I saw that dressed or not, over a month of no intimacy had him already standing at half-mast. I pulled a towel from the rack and wrapped it around his waist and he looked rejected.

"Later," I said, kissing him again. "Tell me where you feel them," I urged him and he closed his eyes, letting out a long shaky breath. With a wavering hand he touched along his right arm, starting at the shoulder blade and then down the arm itself.

"She has no claim over you Dean," I said, lifting his face to look him in the eyes. "She never did, because you're mine." I held his face in my hands and then slid my right hand down his left arm, stopping as it came to rest over the hand print that was scarred into his flesh. My handprint.

"This is my mark," I said, looking at him again. "No one else's." I lifted his left hand and kissed the palm, loving the feel of his ring against my cheek as I brushed his hand along my face. "And this is our promise to each other, you remember?"

Dean nodded, watching me, his eyes wary and tired. He was restraining himself so hard from sinking into the painful memories of Hell. I moved my lips to kiss where I remembered one of the markings had been on his body, and I laid my lips against his hot skin.

"What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder," I said to him. "She can't claim you, you're mine, and I am yours, and no one can take that away from us," I said quietly. I kissed along his shoulder and down his arms, taking my time to love the arm he had so desperately been raking at.

Another shuddering sigh and Dean sank against the wall of the shower, turning his face up to the water and letting it wash down on him.

I took a cloth and squeezed shower gel on to it getting it all soapy and then I started to brush it along his chest and down over his arms. Dean looked up in surprise; we'd never really taken the time before to do this in the shower, our activities leaning more to the carnal side by habit. Soft was needed now.

With a smile, I turned him so that I could wash his back, trailing soapy hands down to the sopping towel at his waist. I left it on, kneeling in front of him and instead using the cloth to trail soap up his legs until again I hit the towel. I could see his erection very prominently fighting against the towel and I smiled, that was at least promising.

Standing again, I stripped my t-shirt and bra off, followed by my jeans and kicked them to the side, leaning into Dean's back and running my hands around his hips and up his chest until I was holding him, my breasts pressed to his back as the water washed down over us.

"I love you," I said softly, kissing the side of his neck, just under his ear. He sighed softly, a happy sigh, and leaned back into me, turning his face to mine so he could claim my lips in a lingering, tender kiss.

I broke away from the kiss, quickly pressing my lips to his perfectly toned skin pressed into my front. The hot water continued to pour down upon us, and I struggled to keep everything chaste, but I had to. There'd be time for that later.

At every interval on his back where the markings had been I stopped, kissing it and tracing hearts in their place. Dean leaned his forehead against the hot tiles of the bath and let out a long wavering breath as I worked my way down. I pulled the towel down as I got to his hips, letting it slip to the bottom of the shower.

I knew they'd trailed further, down over his right buttock and his leg and I was going to do this right. I kissed along his perfectly rounded bottom and he looked down at me, hesitation in his eyes. I'd seen some of the horrible things that had been done to him in this position and clearly he was recalling them too.

"Do you trust me?"

He nodded, watching me.

"Because it's me, and I would never hurt you," I said.

Again he nodded, bracing his hands against the tiles.

"I saw them," I said quietly, tracing my hand down over his leg and he trembled slightly, his leg twitching under my touch. "But they're not here, not anymore." I kissed down his thigh, again tracing small hearts after each kiss, putting all my love into his body as I focused on him.

When I reached the last, half way down his calf muscle I finished with another kiss and then climbed to my feet again, sliding my arms around his chest and leaning in against him.

"Do you still feel them?" I asked, breathing a sigh of relief as he shook his head, indicating no.

"Thank you," he said softly and I smiled, squeezing him tightly to me and kissing the back of his neck.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you Dean, I went into Hell itself for you," I said. He turned in my arms, his lips claiming mine in a deep and sensual kiss, our tongues cycling back and forth between his mouth and mine. I moaned softly, unable to contain how much I had missed being this close to him.

"I've missed you," he said quietly as we broke away and I nodded, feeling the guilt come flooding back that I had done this to him. I pushed it aside this time, not taking it on and reminding myself that we were in this together, and none was to blame any more than the other. Now we needed to move past it, to deal with things as best we could, without judgement or blaming ourselves for the situation.

He turned and smiled at me, taking the cloth from my hand and starting to trail it down through the valley of my breasts, over my stomach and down my left hip.

"My turn," he said softly and I giggled, drawing another smile out of him.

Taking his time he washed my entire body and then knelt down to pull at my panties which were clinging to my body. As they fell to the bottom of the shower he stood up and shucked the towel aside as well, his erection pressing into my stomach as he caught my face in his hands and kissed me with soft, loving lips.

I grinned and stepped out of the shower, pulling him with me, taking a dry towel and starting to rub it along his body, drying it. He tried to help but I tutted at him, standing up and staring into his eyes. "Would you just let me do this please?" I asked with a patient smile. "I'm making a point here."

"Oh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "That much is obvious," he said, gesturing to his very pointed arousal. I laughed and took the towel, tying it around his waist again before taking another dry towel and using it to dry his hair and face.

"Not the point I was talking about," I said with a kiss.

I handed him a fresh towel, the last one, from the rack and looked at him expectantly. "I trust you," I said, and he hesitated. I knew he was much more relaxed than he'd been when I'd first come in, and perhaps that was part of it, getting him in a space where he wouldn't see the tortures he'd gone through in Hell. In fact, maybe it had worked on both of us because I wasn't even feeling slightly cagey like I had for the last fortnight.

With gentle hands I tried not to moan out loud as he started to towel me off, the incorrigible side of Dean unable to resist spending a little extra time on my inner thighs as he sought to get me completely dry from the shower. When he was done, I pulled him out of the bathroom and into the spacious bedroom, over to the bed.

Lying down facing each other, I was reminded that we'd started this way several weeks ago, but we hadn't gone anywhere, the guilt on Dean's part too much to feel frisky, and I was too busy blaming myself that he'd been feeling this way in the first place because of me, and scared that I might trigger something in him, or he might in me.

I thought about Samson and Delilah, and the love they still had for each other after all these millennia. It was beyond reckoning, but I knew as I stared at him that I would feel the same way myself if we ever lived that long. I kissed along his shoulder, my hand sliding in along his hip and across his lower back as he moaned softly, kissing my jaw and then starting to suck on my earlobe which had me giggling, it was so ticklish.

As we kissed, I slowly started to grind my body against his, my thigh slipping in between his legs snuggly and completely melding into his, I trailed my hand up and then down his shoulder again, resting it against the handprint on his left bicep once more, and he stopped what he was doing to look at the perfect match.

"I'm yours," he said and I nodded, looking up into his eyes.

"And I'm yours," I replied. "For better or worse Dean, especially the worse... because I don't want to do this without you."

He smiled and nodded, leaning his forehead in against mine. "It's not going to be all sunshine and rainbows," he said.

"I know."

"And I don't know that I'll ever get over some of the things that..." his voice trailed off and I caught a pained look in his eyes.

"I know," I said, looking at him.

"It's not your fault," he said finally. "You were just doing what Dad told you to do. You were just looking after Sammy."

"I know."

He chuckled at my simple responses, rolling his eyes slightly.

"I'm going to get through this, for you," he promised.

"I know," I said with a grin and he growled, rolling me on to my back and pinning me to the bed.

"And I love you, more than anything," he said finally and a smile broke across my face.

"If you say 'I know' one more time I'm going to tickle you so hard," he threatened and I giggled, looking at him and raising my eyebrow.

"Say it again," I said softly, chewing on my lip.

"I love you," he said without hesitation and I grinned.

"I know," I said cheekily and he gave me an incredulous look as if to say he couldn't believe I'd just played that card. I shrieked as he started to tickle my ribs and then broke into laughter.

His hands went to exactly where he knew I was most vulnerable and I couldn't stop, laugher spilling from my mouth as I playfully fought against him. I both hated and loved being tickled at the same time, and only ever would I let Dean do it to me.

"Stop!" I begged, fighting for breath as I tried to laugh and remain conscious at the same time. I grasped at him desperately, trying to push him off and he stilled on top of me, eyes turning serious as he brushed a hand along my forehead, pushing some hair out of my face.

"It's been over a month," he said and I nodded, feeling the absence of him not just physically, but emotionally, sit heavy in my heart.

"Yeah..." I said, not daring to say 'I know' again, even though I was more than aware.

"We'll take it slow," he said and I nodded, kissing him softly.

"Slow is good," I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Slow is great, so long as we're together."

He nodded, those intense green eyes staring down at me, and for once I didn't see any demons lurking behind. It was just him, and me, and this moment, and everything was going to be all right; and if it wasn't, we'd figure that out too, just like we always did: together.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Song for this chapter is Broken Arrows by Daughtry.

Their entire album Baptized is freaking awesome! I highly recommend checking it out! (Thanks to EarthhAngel for recommending it to me!)

Hope you enjoyed this little original piece, there's a few to come this season, would you all like to see a flashback to early relationship Dean & Beth soon? Or maybe pre-relationship? I've got two in mind right now. Either finishing off the story of what happened in San Antonio all those years ago before they were together. Or the case that John was organising the night of their first date from last chapter – extreme early relationship for them, and one of the first hunts (other than Dead in the Water) they go on. Let me know if you have a preference!

Thank you to EarthhAngel for beta reading and her encouragement along the way, talking shop is always so so fun!

As always, a deep gratitude for reading and sharing your thoughts with me, it always makes my day. Wishful Thinking is up next.

I hope you enjoyed this, and please leave me a review, even if a short one it does help me to feel like you're getting something that you're enjoying. We writers can be needy, especially around free sites, and literally the only "reward" we get is the feedback from the fans, so believe me when I say, I'll keep writing regardless, because this story is for me, but I'm more inspired to update faster when I'm feeling the love :)