THEN:

Mara opened her eyes and stared at the concrete wall. She was surprised that she entered Dean's dream subconsciously. She did not plan of doing such a thing but she realized internally that she was curious about the man. Mara rolled on her back and sighed still feeling sleepy. Mentally, she told herself not to enter Dean's dream again for the rest of the night. After a while, Mara fell deeply asleep dreaming she was with her parents explaining she destroyed the werewolf that killed all her loved ones.

NOW:

Mara walked into the kitchen and the waft of breakfast filled the entire room. She smiled as she watched Sam finish making the last batch of pancakes. "Good Morning Chef." She opened the Fridge to reach for the Orange juice.

"Morning." Sam replied as he concentrated on flipping the last pancake. "I hope you like your pancakes fluffy. Dean does not like the edges crunchy."

"That's ok. I am not picky with my breakfast." She chuckled waiting for sleeping beauty to show up. She wondered how he is going to act after she invaded his dream.

A few minutes later a grumpy disheveled Dean walked into the kitchen. "Hey it smells good in here." He glanced over at Mara and nodded in greeting.

"Morning Dean. Did you sleep well?" She gave him a chagrin look watching the expression on his face.

"Um….I slept ok." He did not want to talk about it and found the subject disturbing since she was in his dream. It was so vivid it seemed surreal. Doing his best to keep his face blank he watched Mara place juice glasses on the table and reached for the silverware on the counter. Dean took a seat at the kitchen table he stretched out his arms to receive a bowl of scrambled eggs. He placed the food next to the plate full of bacon and a bottle of maple syrup.

"Sam do you need help with something?" Mara finished setting the table trying keeping her focus away from Dean.

Sam placed the last bit of scrambled eggs into a bowl. "No I'm good. Go ahead and take a seat." He placed the wooden spoon into the soapy water in the sink.

Mara sat across Dean and started to fill her plate with food. Dean was about to take a first bite of bacon until he saw Kuryiel and Castiel walk in the kitchen. The ladies greeted each other as Kuryiel sat next to Mara. Everyone was engrossed in their meal and had polite conversation.

"What do you have planned for today?" Mara asked Kuryiel as she took a sip of her juice. She felt Dean's eyes on her the whole time she was eating. It took all her will power to resist reading his thoughts. The last thing she needed is to pick up any intimate thoughts from him while she was trying to chew her food.

Kuryiel looked over at Castiel with a sweet smile. "Cas and I will be visiting a couple of angels to recruit. We got a tip from Raziel to visit two full fledge angels in the Alps so we will return later in the evening." She placed her dishes in the soapy sink water and walked to the doorway where Castiel was waiting.

Mara rose from her chair. "Ooh, I am so envious since you can travel instantly to another location. You guys enjoy the alps." Wiped the soapy water from her hands with a towel and walked by the table. "Well what you are guys going to do?" She looked at the brothers rising from their seats.

"We got a tip there's something going on in Kentucky. There were strange deaths with women that were youthful and pretty. When their bodies are discovered they looked like dried women." Dean placed his refilled juice glass on the counter. "We are going to research on what kind of creature that drains women's youths and leave dry husks of bodies." Sam thinks it may be a goddess of something so we have to do some digging of info to get some kind of ideas of what we might be dealing with."

"Good luck with your research. If you really need us don't hesitate to summon me and Cas." The angel couple walked out of the kitchen.

Mara looked intrigued. "Oh, this sounds interesting. I never dealt with goddesses before but if you want an extra person to help, I am very good at researching things quickly."

Sam smiled and patted Mara on the left shoulder. "Great. We need someone that is good since Dean is more of a jock type then a geek. I swear he will not open a book unless it has pictures in it."

"Hey! Why did you tell her that?" Dean was dismayed by Sam's comment. He crossed his arms and glowered at his brother.

Sam chuckled. "Well it's true. He has an attention span of a toddler when it comes to books. I've seen you in action bro when we had to decipher the angel tablet. It had you totally stumped. Even with the symbols you could not wrap your brain around it."

"Alright! Alright!" Dean growled. He glanced over at Mara and she did her best not to laugh. Her lips were quivering with pinned up amusement. It frustrated him even more. "Whatever." The green eyed man grumbled as he walked out of the room. As he walked past the doorway he uttered "I am going to the garage to work on baby while you geeks do your thing."

Sam sighed as he started to wash the dishes. "He thinks he is a stone wall but I can push his buttons."

"I see. I figured he is more sensitive then he shows to everyone. It's funny he calls his car baby which shows a paternal side." Mara walked to the doorway. "I will meet you in the library in a while. Need to take a shower and change. Thanks for breakfast." She gingerly smiled at Sam.

Sam turned his head toward her while he was rinsing a plate. "No problem. I will see you later."

She walked out of the kitchen and headed toward the garage. Mara approached the door. She slowly open to take a peak in the room. The hood of the Impala was open and she can see the arch of his back covered shirt connecting denim covered legs with boots. "Hey Mr. Mechanic, what are you doing to your baby?"

Dean removed the carburator cap and peered inside to check the filter. He felt at peace working on his car. He enjoyed putting time and attention maintaining a classic vehicle that is a few years older than him. "Hum... Doing this or that. Don't you have some geek research to do?"

Mara approached the car to see exactly what he was doing. "I have a little time before I help Sam. Just want to hang out with you for a sec." She probed his thoughts and sensed his prickly attitude. She felt his need for some serenity. "How long you had this car?" She asked knowing the answer before he spoke.

Dean screwed the bolt and grabbed a red rag off a nearby table to wipe his hands. "My father bought this car way back when he dated my mother. My baby has a lot of history. She has been through a lot of battles with monsters and demons. I have restored her over two handfuls of times and she keeps running for me."

"Wow this car really means a lot to you." She stared at the shiny finish and can see how much work he must have put into his car to give it a mint appearance.

Dean walked toward her. "This car is a remembrance of my family. Even though I don't have many memories of my mother riding in this car but there are plenty of memories of my pops and Sam. It's something I don't want to let go of. Sam does not have that connection but he understands why I keep her intact."

She stepped next to Dean as he looked at his car. Mara placed her right hand on his left shoulder. "I understand what is like to have something meaningful that is connected to family." She reached in her T-shirt collar and pulled out two rings that were on a gold chain. She stepped in front of Dean to show him the rings. It was an unusual piece of jewelry that were wedding bands but the rings were currently interlocked with a pattern that appears to look like waves with a unknown script.

Dean lifted the necklace to look at the rings carefully. "Were the rings your parents wedding bands?"

"Yes each ring has been passed from generation to generation. The oldest daughter and son receive the rings. Since I lost my brother and sister I inherited both rings. My people have these styles of rings and the eldest children represent united families with this script." She pointed at the marks. "Each ring are one side of the family names represents a connection of two families unified in marriage. My family's legacy falls solely on me now." Mara looked very sad as she tucked the rings inside her shirt.

Dean felt bad for this pretty woman that had a rough past. He knew what it's like to lose a family member to monsters but he can't imagine his whole family being killed in one day. She must feel so alone. Her determination to hunt down those werewolves must have been the only way to deal with her loss. Dean watched her walk back to the bunker door. "Hey, have fun playing geek search. I will see you later."

She turned her head to look at him and gave a half smile. "Sure. If you get tired of tinkering with your baby you can join us. I know you have some useful brain cells in that thick skull of yours."

Dean smirked. "Thanks. I'll think about it." He walked toward the garage counter with gleaming tools laid on top of an old rag.

Mara closed the door absorbing Dean's empathy for her. Frankly, she was pretty surprised feeling this emotion from him since he normally wears a mask to cloak his feelings. It left her very curious of what really makes him tick. She knew there is more to him then he shows the world. It will be hard work to get through the layers of the wall he meticulously built inside himself. Mara walked down the hall to her bedroom thinking of a better way to get through the man's barriers without him knowing.

Sam was typing on his laptop at the library table. His eyes narrowed as he scanned through the names of goddesses that are listed on a particular website. His eyes suddenly looked up to see Mara approaching the table. "Well you took your time. I thought you changed your mind."

"Hey a woman has to do her beautification ritual." Mara beamed in humor.

"Yeah right, you don't need to work hard on having beauty. You are a very pretty women even when you are sweaty and wild looking from a fight." Sam admitted with his face flushed.

She grinned at Sam's blush. "Well now, thank you for the compliment but I don't think I look pretty at those moments. I am glad I am pleasing to somebody's eye." Mara joked making Sam looked away. "So what do you have so far about Goddesses? Any clues that relates to the deaths?"

Sam pulled out a chair next to him so she can sit down and peer at the laptop screen. "Here's a list of name of goddesses and their abilities. I found a handful that uses powers to maintain their youth. Idunn, Hebe and a few others. We killed some in the past so I can strike out one on this list."

Mara craned her neck and her auburn hair swept to the side of her face. She reviewed the names that were listed in front of her. "Wow there are many here. Looks like we have a little homework cut out for us."

Sam pointed at the bookshelf of old dusty books. "We also have some information in there too. The men that created this place observed and recorded many things. You may want to check the books out so we don't miss anything if you don't mind."

She rose from her chair and walked to the bookcase. "This is going to be an interesting evening." she remarked as she lifted a book and opened the page.

To Be Continued... on Chapter 14

In two weeks