Dean had thought that the first couple days of Sariel's heat were bad. He was so so wrong! Sariel got extremely sick. She couldn't keep anything down and he was having trouble getting her to drink water. The concern for the omega and the decision that he wasn't going to knot her had caused his rut to fade. Now that his body wasn't going crazy, he was able to focus on really taking care of her. He'd finally gotten her to sleep when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He walked outside and answered it.

"Hey, Sammy."

"How's it going?" Sam asked. Dean smiled at the concern in his little brother's voice.

"I'm not rutting anymore. Something brought me out of it. But Sariel's...she's really sick," he said quietly. "She can't keep any food down and she won't drink any water." Sam sighed.

"Crap. I was afraid you'd say that I've done some side research since I finished the case-"

"Wait. You finished the case?" Dean asked.

"Um...yeah. It turned out to be a really simple haunting. But anyway, I did some research into fated mates. There's a possibility that her suppressants failed because she came into contact with her fated mate. The fated alpha's scent can cause an omega's suppressants to fail. They go into heat because they've met their other half," Sam explained. Dean frowned even though Sam couldn't see.

"What are you saying, Sam?"

"I think that you two might be fated mates. She went into her first heat in years after she met you and you went into the only rut you've had since you presented. It makes sense, Dean. I'm sure you've felt something. I've seen it when you've looked at her," Sam said. Dean sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Come on-"

"I really don't know how you're still denying it. It's so obvious."

"I'm not talking about this with you!" Dean growled. He didn't want to talk about it period. He fought monster that normal people couldn't even conceive of but when came down to something like fated mates, something that was supposed to be easy but involved emotions...it terrified him. He heard Sam sigh.

"Fine, Dean. But you're only hurting yourself and Sariel."

"I need to go check on her."

"I just see a chance for you to finally be truly happy. And I don't want you to pass it up," Sam said with an exasperated sigh.

"Thanks, Sammy. I've got to go check on Sariel." Dean hung up and went back inside. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that she was still sleeping. He slouched into one of the crappy plastic chairs with a sigh. Part of him hoped that Sam was right. He'd never met anyone that smelled so good. And she was gorgeous, strong, and smart. The other side didn't want to tie either of them down with all the emotions that went with being mates. Dean Winchester was NOT good with emotional crap. He heard a moan and his head snapped up. Sariel's eyes were open and the alpha could smell new slick. He was glad that he'd put towels under her. He moved to her side. "Hey," he said quietly.

"Hey," Sariel replied in a hoarse voice. The fact that she could speak was a really good thing.

"How are you feeling?" He waited for her answer as she scented the air.

"You aren't in a rut anymore," she said. There was a note of disappointment in her voice.

"Nope. But this means I can take better care of you now," he replied. "Speaking of that, can you sit up at all? I need you to drink some water. Between the slick, sweat, and puke you're probably super dehydrated." She struggled to sit up as Dean got a glass of water. He passed it to her and she sipped at it without looking at him.

"I'm sorry my suppressants failed. This has never happened before," she said softly. Dean was amazed how meek she acted in heat. Almost like a typical omega. It was the total opposite of the woman he'd met just a few days before. But the pull to her was just as strong, if not stronger.

"Have your heats always been this bad?" he asked. She nodded.

"I always get really sick. This time is a million times worse because I haven't had a heat in years," she answered. She finished off the water.

"Sam actually has a theory about why you busted your suppressants," Dean said quietly.

"If it's about fated mates, I don't want to hear it," she replied bitterly. Dean felt like his heart dropped into his stomach. And it was weird because the last time that had even come close to happening was with Cassie.

"What's wrong with fated mates?" Sariel looked up at him with an angry fire in her eyes.

"There's no way I could be fated to anyone because I'm not supposed to exist." He could almost feel her anger reverberating in his own body. He took her chin in his hand and looked right into her eyes.

"It doesn't matter if you're a nephi-whatever. You have just a much right to be part of fated mates as anyone else," he said firmly. Her face flushed and a burst of her scent filled the room along with fresh slick.

"You really think I could be part of a fated pair?" Dean took a deep breath.

"I do. But we can talk about it more when you're not in heat. For now, I'm gonna get you more water." He went to fill up her glass with his heart thudding in his chest. He'd wanted to kiss her more than he'd wanted anything in a long time. He knew that he needed to stick to his decision though. They would only talk about this after Sariel's heat.

"Thank you," Sariel said when Dean handed her the full glass.

"If you need anything, I'll be right here. You should get some more sleep." Sariel finished drinking the water and laid back down. Dean sighed and got comfortable on his own bed. He couldn't believe that he was willingly going to get into an emotional conversation...


After two more days of being drenched in sweat and slick and puking her guts up, Sariel was finally out of her heat. She woke up before Dean and jumped in the shower. She remembered everything that Dean had said about fated mates. While a part of her wanted to know what Dean had to say, a bigger part didn't want to get into that type of conversation. It didn't matter the pull she felt toward the alpha. There was no way that she could have a fated mate. Dean was just trying to be nice because she'd been in heat. She got out of the shower and dressed quickly. When she walked back to the main room, Dean was awake and sitting on his bed with a serious look on his face. He looked up when he heard her.

"Hey..." he said quietly. Sariel smirked to hide her emotional turmoil.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Time for us to hit the road, don't you think?" she replied. Dean frowned as he watched her pack.

"Sariel, we-"

"I'll go get Sam and let him know we're good to go." She hurried out of the room, missing the slightly hurt look that crossed Dean's face.

The car ride to the next case was silent and tense. And suuuuper awkward for Sam. Sariel just sat in the back, fidgeting awkwardly and obviously trying not to look at Dean. Dean had a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and kept glancing at Sariel in the rearview mirror. Something had definitely happened between them.

"So...I think you guys should-" Dean cut Sam off.

"Can it, Sammy," he growled. Sam just rolled his eyes and slouched in his seat.

"Dean, don't take your anger out on him," Sariel said.

"You cram it, too!" Sariel glared at him.

"You're really going to be an ass to Sam because of me?"

"Doesn't matter. Just shut up." With that, Dean turned up the radio, "Hair of the Dog" drowning everyone out. Sariel let out a huff. Maybe she should rethink that talk...


They got settled in to the new motel, Sariel in her own room. Sam looked over at his brother who was busy on his laptop.

"Dude, what happened with you and Sariel?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," was the only answer. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Dean, you're acting like you used to when you and Dad would fight but you'd try to hide it. You always did suck at that. Plus, she said you were being an ass to me because ofher," he said. Dean let out a groan and closed his computer.

"You're not going to leave me alone until we talk about this, are you?" he said with a glare. Sam crossed his arms and gave him a look that told him he was right. "Fine. A couple of days ago, I brought up the fated mates thing. I said we could talk about it when she was out of heat. You know how much I hate this shit! But I offered to talk about this shit with her because I want her and I want her to be happy, too. I tried to bring it up this morning and she blew me off." Sam uncrossed his arms. Now he understood why Dean had been such a jerk. He sat down across from his brother.

"Did you ever think that maybe she gets as weird about this stuff as you do? She has been on her own for a long time," Sam said.

"What? But she's a woman. Women are good at this crap," Dean replied. Sam sighed.

"You can't make generalizations like that. I think she's just as bad at dealing with emotions as you are. Give her some space and then you guys can get into it later," he said. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I'll give her her space but we still need to work this case." Sam agreed and they started working.