Guess who's back with a new chapter? That's right! It's me!

Wanna know what happened on my vacation? No, no, really, you'll love this story. i met another Supernatural fan. He was working in an airbrush shop in Adventureland and he made me a shirt that says "Supernatural" on it. We talked about the finale. It was cool.

And now here's what you've been waiting so patiently for (thanks again for waiting patiently, BTW)...

The car was eerily silent as it sped down the highway, heading to the spot that had been agreed upon for the exchange. "So," Dean said, finally breaking the silence, "we clear on the plan?"

Sammy nodded. "Yep. The plan is that there is no plan. Not right now, anyway."

"Right. And once it gives you the gun?"

"Contact you and tell you where to pick it up."

"And if you can't reach me?"

"Ellen. If I can't find her, Jaye, and if her line is busy, Ash. If Ash is unavailable, find someone else who's got your number. I know, Dean. Stop worrying."

"Stop worrying?" Dean scoffed, "you're kidding, right? This is probably the stupidest thing we've ever done. If it wasn't for Jaye, I wouldn't even consider it."

"Same here," Sam pointed out, "but at least we're not just blindly walking into it. We're gonna be ok."

"I hope you're right," Dean muttered as he pulled into the dusty lot that sat across from the recently-charred remnants of a two-storey house, "because we're here."

The car stopped and the doors creaked open before two dirty pairs of boots stepped out onto the lot. Two figures moved out of the cover of trees, a man in his mid-twenties with shining yellow eyes and teenage girl whose wrists had been tied behind her back and mouth had been taped shut.

"Quite a mouth this kid's got on her, Deanster," the demon remarked, nodding to the silver duct tape, "gotta watch the language around the kiddies."

Jaye glared up at him and growled something that sounded an awful lot like 'son of a bitch.'

"See? She's already got your catchphrase down."

"Just give her back," Dean said.

The demon grinned. "My my, someone's in a hurry. Can't wait to get back to your bonnie lass, huh? I understand." It winked.

"I want my daughter."

Fine," it shrugged, tossing a small coil of rope over to the hunters, "tie Sammy up and send him over. Nice and tight now, wouldn't want him breaking out and going back on our little deal. No tradsies backsies, you know."

Dean nodded and started to tie his brother's wrists behind his back. Sam didn't fight, just let it happen, at peace with what he was doing and trusting that his brother would get him out of it.

"All right," the demon said, nodding its approval, "shall we trade?" It pushed Jaye forward, making her trip. She turned back and promptly kicked it in the shin. "Ooh, spunky," it cooed as she trudged away.

Sam started walking toward the demon, winking down at Jaydin as they passed each other and he caught the look of concern in her eyes.

After what seemed an eternity, Dean dropped to his knees and was able to reach out and grab his daughter's sweatshirt, pulling her into a tight embrace. "You all right?" he whispered, pulling her closer.

Jaye coughed and he pulled away. "Right, sorry. This is gonna hurt." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Duh. Ready?" She nodded and he grabbed a corner of the piece of tape covering her mouth and pulled.

"Ah! Dad!"

Dean shrugged. "Told you it would hurt." He pulled her into another hug, looking over her shoulder and untying the rope that had been holding her hands. "You ok?"

"I'm fine."

"What did it do to you?"

"Nothing."

"Really?"

"No, it stole my freakin' kidney."

"Jaye."

The girl sighed. "I'm fine, dad. Really. I was out the whole time. It put me to sleep or something. How long was I gone?"

"Little more than a day," he replied, pulling back again and placing both hands on her shoulders, holding her at arm's length. "It's good to see you, though."

"You, too. I guess." She looked back over her shoulder to find the lot empty behind them. "You gave it uncle Sammy."

Dean flashed a quick smile. "Don't worry about that."

"You traded him for me, didn't you?"

"I told you not to worry about it, Jaye."

She stuffed her hands in her pockets and followed her father to the car. "You've got a plan, though, right?"

Her father shrugged. "Sure."

"You don't have a plan."

"I'm working on it."

Jaye hung her head. "He is so doomed."

o0o0o0o

The door to the motel room opened and Jaydin walked in, dragging her feet, bag of cold take-out in her hand. She wasn't really sure what to expect, didn't yet know the exact details of the deal her father had made to get her back, just knew that he was working on a plan. She wasn't sure how much her mother knew, and was wondering whether or not she should ask when she was scooped into strong arms and pulled close to a warm body.

"Mom?" she gasped, struggling to pull away.

Ellen backed up, holding the girl at arm's length and checking her over for any bumps and bruises. "You ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." She glanced down at the bag of food in her hand, "kinda hungry, though. You mind?"

Ellen smiled and let the girl go, watching her head into the small kitchenette. "Where's your father?"

"In the car. He said he'd get the bags if I brought in the food."

The older woman nodded and stepped out of the room and into the darkening parking lot. "What took you?" she asked as she caught sight of the Impala and the hunched figure digging through the trunk.

"The thing had Jaye knocked out or something," he explained without bothering to look up, "she hasn't eaten since it took her, so we stopped to get something. I wasn't sure what you like, but I figured a burger and fries would be a safe bet."

His head popped up as she walked around to the back of the car to help him with the bags. "It's fine. How're you?"

Dean shrugged, pulling a couple of duffles out of the trunk and tossing them onto the pavement. "I just traded one half of my family for the other," he replied, "how would you be?"

She sighed and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We'll get him back, safe and sound. Don't worry."

He pulled away from her touch, confusion flashing over his features as he caught the hurt in her eyes. "Yeah. Right." He picked up one of the bags. "Hey, grab that other one, will you?"

Ellen did as she was told, watching him as he stalked off toward the room he had been sharing with his brother. "You want to stay with us tonight?"

He stopped at the doorway, key in his hand, and turned to look at her. "What?"

She shrugged. "I just don't think you should be alone tonight."

Dean stared at her, watching her, looking for signs of a sick joke. He couldn't get the demon's words out of his head, running around as if on a loop, playing continuously, never ceasing, causing his breath to hitch in his chest as realization hit him and his heart sank. Love. Unending love.

He slid the key through the lock and shoved the door open. He ran into the room and let the door slam, not even bothering to turn on the lights as he sank down onto the floor.

"This can't be good," he muttered, burying his head in his hands and sighing loudly as sounds of happy chatter carried over from the next room.

o0o0o0o0o

"She's beautiful," Ellen commented as she and Dean stood looking over the sleeping teen.

"Yeah," the younger hunter replied, turning towards to door to leave, "she is."

"You all right?"

He stopped with his hand on the door handle. "Fine. Just tired." He sighed, refusing to look back at her, knowing that she was staring at him, wishing that he'd just lied to his daughter and told her that he wasn't feeling well instead of giving in and having a family dinner.

"You know, that offer still stands."

Dean bit his lip, finally glancing back. "Thanks, but I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself." He opened the door and walked out into the night, breathing in the cool air.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out into the parking lot, not really paying any attention to where he was going, just needing to clear his head. It was a stupid thing to have to do, but he had to keep reminding himself to stay focused, to keep his guard up. It wasn't real and it never would be. It was damn smart, though.

Keeping Dean distracted and happy was all part of the plan, a very clever one at that. He shook his head, looking up at the stars, and barely noticed the sound of a door opening and closing softly behind him.

He turned around as soft footsteps approached and sighed as he saw Ellen walking across the parking lot toward him. "You shouldn't leave her alone," he pointed out, turning back up toward the stars.

"I doubt anything's going to take her. That demon's pretty powerful. Nothing would risk breaking that deal you made with it."

"You should go back inside."

She shook her head. "Not a chance. We need to talk."

"About what?"

"There's something up with you," Ellen said softly, reaching out and touching his arm, "you've been avoiding me ever since you got back. I think it's pretty safe to say that if I've noticed it, Jaye's noticed it, too."

"It's nothing," he muttered, shrugging off her hand and taking a couple of steps away.

"Dean."

"I'm fine, all right." He turned to glare at her, hoping to scare her off. "Just leave me alone."

The older hunter stood her ground. "Not a chance. I'm worried about you." That hand was back on his arm, rubbing slowly up and down, weakening whatever defenses he'd struggled to build that evening, actually making him wonder if Sam was worth saving. "Just tell me what's wrong."

He shook his head. "It's not real."

"What's not?"

"This. You. Me. Remember? There's a reason we're here, in this dumpy motel, with a teenager who's dying to get to know you. Don't tell me you forgot everything."

She locked eyes with him. "I remember that I made a mistake. I'd like to try and fix it."

Dean sighed, still watching her, assessing her, wanting to give in. "I don't want to get hurt again," he whispered as she slid her hands into his.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I love you too much for that."

He gasped, eyes widening, heart pounding, hands shaking. It wasn't right, wasn't real, but she'd said it. She'd said it, and she'd meant it. Maybe, just for a little while… if he just remembered that it was all a trick. Maybe, if he was careful, it could all be worth it. Maybe, given the chance, she would come around.

"Dean? You all right, hon?"

"You promise?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

Ellen smiled. "I promise."

Even as some sane part of Dean's mind protested, he felt himself melt. He gave up fighting, gave in to the demon's plan and his own selfish wants. "I love you, too."

Uh-oh... uh, please don't stone me now...

One question before I leave you, though: has anyone heard the Kellie Pickler song "I wonder?" I think it's a good song for the story. Really about Jaye's relationship with her mom. Check it out if you get the time :)