Chapter 2

Ella was standing outside Singer Wrecking looking out at all the junk piles enjoying the bright sun. It was one of those days where the weather was co-operating, which in her line of work meant no omens or demons. She had spent the last 6 months here at Bobby's; she and Dean had shown up on his door step one night asking to stay. Bobby's had taken one look at Dean and immediately let him in. Although he had a few reservations about Ella, Dean had vouched for her. Said she had shown up at Lisa's one day, she didn't talk to him at first. She was just always around; when Dean would go to work or take Ben to school she was always there in the shadows. Dean's instincts kicked in and the hair on the back of his neck would stand up when ever she was near. He finally decided to approach her one day after dropping Ben off at soccer practice.

Dean walked to the far end of the field where he knew she was at. He couldn't see her but he felt her near. "Ok lady, I know I'm good looking, but why are you following me?"

Ella walked out of the tree's surrounding the back end of the soccer field. She knew Dean had seen her on several occasions over the past month she had been watching him, but she wanted him to approach her. This way he knew if she wanted to hurt him or his family she could have done it already. She walked slowly towards him, "I'm not following you Dean, I'm watching you" her hands swaying with every step she took.

Dean arched an eyebrow at her "Yea lady, that's not creepy at all." Sarcasm was a skill Dean mastered at a young age. Ella didn't seem to understand his sarcasm. It wasn't that she didn't understand jokes or get ironic moments. She was just used to someone else's jokes, someone else's sense of humor, someone not Dean.

They were both staring at each other waiting for someone to speak; Ella had waited a month for this moment and decided to wait for Dean to break the silence. It didn't take long. "Why have you been following me? And don't give me that 'I'm watching you not following' crap either."

The phrase 'now or never' was going through Ella's mind. "I am watching you, it just so happens that in order to watch you I must follow you. As to why I've been watching you," Ella took a deep breath, willing herself to answer Dean truthfully and hoping she would not end up dead, "Sam asked me to."

Sam was right, the truth does hurt. Or at least that's what is seemed like. Dean looked like he wanted to kill, maim and cry all at once. Ella wasn't sure what to do. It was easier with Sam; she knew what he needed and what he was thinking. Right now she was out of her element, she had no idea what was going on in Dean's head. She could see him clenching and unclenching his fists, the look he was giving her was comparable to Sam's 'angry face.' She briefly wondered if Sam was doing ok, if he was still safe. Before her mind could run off with her thoughts Dean was speaking again.

"Sam sent you? Wow lady did he send you a note with a carrier pigeon? Sam's dead," the look on Deans face made Ella flinch, like it was the first time he had said those words aloud, "you're a little late to talk to him."

"He didn't send me a pigeon, or a note. He asked me to watch out for you..." before she could finish her sentence Dean cut her off.

"You? Watch out for me? How in the world are you going to watch out for me?" Dean let out a sound that was suspiciously similar to a ppfft. Sam did that too when he was annoyed. "I'm not so sure you could look after yourself. You're what 19 maybe 20? I'm sure the life of a hunter sounds great and all but news flash kid, it ain't. This life sucks, trust me. If you can get out, get out. Run home to Mommy and Daddy; apologize for whatever you did and live a happy apple pie life with them. You couldn't protect me anymore than I could protect Sam. And he's in Hell so go sell your BS story to someone else." Dean turned to walk away, "And while you're at it tell all your Demon buddies to leave me alone. I'm done with that life."

"I'm not a demon, and Sam's not in Hell." Dean immediately stopped walking. If someone could see his face they would see Dean fighting back tears. This was the most Dean had said about Sam since he died. He didn't even talk to Lisa about Sam.

Dean slowly turned around after shoving his emotions down deep inside, in that place he kept memories of hell in, along with every other bad memory he had. "Christo." He muttered.

"I'm not a demon."

"Then what are you? And where is Sam?" The softness of Dean's voice made Ella thing that maybe just maybe he was going to let her explain, and maybe he would believe her.

"I'm a friend of Sam's, as for where he is I can't tell you, I don't exactly know, but I know he's there willingly. He'll come back to you when he is done."

"So let me get this straight, you're not a demon, Sam's alive and somehow you've been to Hell and back? Give me one good reason why I should believe you."

"Sam told me this is how you would be, he also told me you would want proof I wasn't lying." Ella took a deep breath, not sure if she was ready to give Dean the best news of his life and at the same time ruin what Sam called the 'apple pie life' he had built for himself. "Army man in the ashtray in the back seat of the Impala Sam put it there when he was a kid."

"You're gonna have to do better than that. Chuck even knew about that."

"Till the day Sam jumped into the cage you considered taking care of him your job, you told him that, right before he said yes. Sam made you promise to leave him in the cage. It's the only time you have ever listened to Sam."

Every emotion Dean hated to show was running across his face. From anger to sadness to a brief spark of happiness. It was all there for Ella to see. Sam had been right; Dean would do anything for him. Making him promise to do nothing had been the single most horrifying moment in Dean's life. Ella could see that now.

"What's your name?"

"Ella. My name is Ella. Although Sam calls me his Ella Bella, I'm still not sure why."

"Ok Ella, I'm still not sure I believe you a hundred percent but I'm willing to take a chance. How do I get Sam back?"

"You can't go get him back Dean, I told you he will come back to you when he's finished. But until then you need to be kept safe, Sam has lots of enemies. Especially now after he locked Lucifer and Michael in a cage. Heaven and Hell are both after him." It was true all things supernatural were after Sam now. There was no hiding from it; Sam was going to be hunted until the end. But it was a risk he was willing to take, to come back home to Dean.

"So what I'm just supposed to sit back and wait for him to show up?"

"No Dean, we go somewhere safe."

"Safe eh? We can go to Bobby's" Dean stared walking back to his car, he gave Ella a quick way that she took as a sign to follow him. When she caught up to him he was closing his phone, like he had just ended a conversation. By the time they had gotten to the car Dean was ready to ask another question. But he kept opening and closing his mouth until finally he got the words out, "He's not in Hell?" It was like Ella's words from before had just sunk in. The tense line in Deans shoulders seemed to melt away, the relief in his face was noticeable.

"Not anymore. A month after he jumped into the cage he broke out walked into the pit, and killed more demons than I've ever seen before. He spent a week in the pit killing everything that got close to him. By the time he was calm enough for me to approach him he had made his way to the Devils Gate. Nothing but blood and bodies lay behind him. Hell kneeled at his feet. It was breathtaking." Ella was remembering the first moment she saw Sam. Fighting his way through Hell, sword at his side, ready to kill anything he had to just for a chance to get home. To Ella it was beautiful.

That afternoon they drove straight to Bobby's house. That was 6 months ago and during that time Ella had managed to keep her identity as a Guardian a secret. Dean still didn't trust her completely but Ella figured Dean didn't trust anyone completely, except maybe Sam. Bobby took a while to warm up to her but once he did he realized she was a wealth of information on the supernatural. If Bobby couldn't find the answer in one of his book he would go to Ella. So far she had the answer's he needed or knew what book he needed to look in. Ella spent most of her time outside with Dean. When he wasn't on a hunt he was fixing up cars and helping Bobby. It was nice for her; she enjoyed being outside after so long in Hell. She even stopped wearing shoes outside. The feel of grass between her toes was too nice to pass up. She and Dean spent hours sitting outside after Bobby went to sleep; they would watch the stars and Dean would try to figure her out by asking 'not so subtle' questions. It was almost a game to them, to ask ridiculous questions and share past stories. During that time Ella had learned about Sam and Deans childhood, some of the oddest hunts they had been on, and the infamous 'prank wars'. Dean had learned that Ella was not only incredibly smart but skilled with most weapons. Although she detested guns; said they were too impersonal, anyone could point and shoot, it took skill to fight, not to mention honor to meet your advisory on the battle field. They were kindred spirits in a way, two people bound by their love for another. Both waiting, biding their time for that person to return to them, neither knowing he was closer than they ever expected.