Hey, Kripke. I'll trade you three chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies for Dean. What? No? Aw, come on! They're really good cookies!

Duh, duh, duh!

Chase stomped through the forest, fuming and cursing that damned Winchester under her breath. She should kill him. She ought to kill him. She could kill him.

"I'm going to kill him," she grumbled half-heartedly. "You're dead, Winchester!" she yelled at the leaves, "And I'm going to make it hurt!"

"That doesn't sound too good." Sam suddenly appeared around a turn. "I mean, death is so…final."

Chase glared at him. "I would hope so." She marched on. "When you see your brother, be sure to tell him to grip that knife a little harder. Preferably right next to his throat."

"Chase," Sam called after her. "Chase!" he yelled when she didn't stop. "Dammit, Chase, hold on!"

"What?" she demanded virtually spitting venom.

Sam stopped short behind her. "What happened?"

"Nothing," she snapped, "he's just being his usual self. The ass."

"Take it as a compliment," Sam laughed, "He's only an ass to the people he cares about."

"Well, maybe I wish he would care just a little less," she muttered crossing her arms. "He's waiting for you, by the way. I'd have the whole Madison explanation in order. "

"Yeah." Sam rubbed his neck and watched the leaves shake in the wind. "About that."

"What?" Chase asked warily. She didn't want to get caught up in another fight, and she wasn't positive Sam wasn't angry with her.

"When you came to the motel."

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you just tell me she was here?" Sam caught her eye, and she damned his big brown ones right along with his brother.

"Because she didn't want you to know." Chase bit her lip, "Stupid, but whatever. It's not my life."

"What do you mean, stupid?"

Chase sighed and leaned her back against a tree. "Everyone needs someone, Sam. Lilly has Chris. Kisten has the pack. Dean has his ego. You and Maddy need someone." She grinned. "And I think it would be nice for both of you if that someone was each other."

Sam smiled at the ground. "That would be kinda-"

"Great?" Chase interrupted. "Perfect? Deserved?"

"Good," Sam humbled the situation, "it would be good."

Chase just shook her head, "You are too nice for your own good, boy," she joked.

Sam laughed, "Maybe. But what about you?"

"What about me?" Chase pushed herself off the tree and started her trek back to the house.

"Who do you have?"

Pausing in her tracks, Chase thought for a moment. "The wolf," she answered simply. "I have the wolf."

XxXxX

When Dean sat down after calling his brother a blinding sun was in the very center of the sky, and if he could have shot it he would have. But when Dean finally saw his brother, the sky was black, and the only blinding light was the glare of Sam's flashlight as it reflected off the wet leaves.

"Good, you're awake." Sam said.

"Yeah." Dean stiffly stood and stretched. "How long was I out?"

"Few hours." Sam nodded his head toward the direction of the town. "I think the pack's keeping tabs on things."

"Are they?" Dean mused to himself. Figured that they'd think the Winchesters couldn't take this bitch out by themselves. Pretentious, overgrown dogs. Suddenly, a very, very overgrown dog stepped into his line of vision. "Holy-"

"It's Chris," Sam stated as if the two were great friends. "The wolf's huge, isn't it?" He was even starting to separate human and beast.

Dean didn't really know what to say. "Yeah."

Quickly, the large, almost monster-like wolf transformed into the tall man Dean had so abruptly met earlier that day.

"Dean, Sam," Chris greeted zipping up his jacket a little more, "I found your thorns for you, there's enough to get her caught if you can get her in them."

"Thorns?" Dean asked. He still wasn't fully awake and his head was starting to pound. Great.

"Thorns," Sam affirmed. "Where are they?" he asked Chris.

"Couple steps to your right." Chris grinned and faced Dean, "Good thing you don't roll around in your sleep or anything."

"Ha, yeah," Dean agreed dryly. "Where's everybody else?"

"Lilly and Kisten left for home a few minutes ago. Maddy's hunting, and I haven't seen Chase since this morning. I think she has her phone, though. If you want to call her."

Call her? "No, I just wanted to know if we had any more baby sitters."

"We're not 'baby sitters,' Dean. We know perfectly well that you two can take care of yourselves." Chris hid his irritation well. "At least Maddy and Chase claim you can, and since they do know you best Lilly says we have to listen."

"You don't think we can do it." Dean stated.

"Actually, I think you can. I just don't think you're all Chase says you are." He held Dean's gaze a moment longer.

"Well," Sam cleared his throat, "Thanks for your help, Chris."

"No problem." He looked Sam over. "When did you sleep last?"

"A while ago," Sam admitted.

Chris nodded. "You look it." Without another word, he took back off into the forest.

"Dude's got a point," Dean said, "You look like shit, Sammy."

"You don't look so great either." Sam leaned against a tree.

"Yeah, but I'm older. These rugged good looks can only look better. You on the other hand…"

"How does your age have anything to do with that?" Sam asked completely baffled by his brother's logic.

"Just does, Sammy."

"That's some weird reasoning you have, Dean."

"Madison," Dean scowled as the brunette stepped out of the woods.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked standing up to meet her.

"I just finished hunting. I came by to see how you were," her soft voice held a note of anxiety. "I was just…you left so fast."

"Yeah," Sam shot a glance at Dean who quickly turned the other way. "Hunting, you know?"

Madison laughed. "Yeah, I know."

"So you'll understand why you should leave," Dean said.

"What?" Madison either refused to take the hint or didn't get it.

"We're in the middle of a hunt. We don't have time to take care of you."

"I can take care of myself, Dean"

"Sure you can." Dean pushed himself off the ground. "Because you haven't been looked after for the past few months or anything like that."

"Dean," Sam started.

"No," Madison held up a hand. "He's right. I was looked after so I wouldn't kill unfortunate idiots such as him."

"Ouch, that hurt, Maddy. It really did." Dean held a hand over his heart. "But, seriously, leave before you get hurt."

"I'll leave when I feel like it." Madison said through gritted teeth.

"You'll leave now." Dean replied. He crossed his arms.

"Why don't you just leave, Dean?" a voice whispered in his ear.

Dean spun around, but nobody was in sight. "Who's there?" he demanded.

"Scared?" the voice whispered again.

"Dude, who are you talking to?" Sam asked, concern etched on his face.

"There's someone…"

"They can't hear me, Dean," it gloated. "Only you can."

"Who are you?" Dean hissed.

"You know. We've met before. It wasn't my choice, of course, but now I'm so glad you introduced yourself." The voice laughed, "You're going to try so hard, Dean. So hard. It's going to be almost depressing watching you lose them both. Almost maddening. Almost."

It was a woman, but he had met millions of those, so who the hell was it?

"Dean?" Sam tried again. "What's going on?"

"Quiet," Dean snapped.

"So hard…" the voice said again, "So sad…"

"Dean?" another voice, this one familiar, accompanied the first. "What's wrong?"

"Chase?" Dean flinched as she placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. "Was that you?"

"Was what me?"

"Dean," the voice taunted.

"That!"

"Sam?" Chase glanced at the younger. "What's going on?"

Sam shook his head, "I don't know."

"You had better get back to your hunt, Dean. You won't have much longer." And the voice was gone.

"Dean?" Chase asked again.

Dean finally looked at her. Her forehead was creased with worry, and she still had a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah." He shook his head and shrugged her hand off. "Sam, take a look around the town," he tossed him a gun, "take Madison with you."

"What?" Sam asked, "You want her to come?"

"Yeah." He turned to the girl, "Watch his back."

Madison nodded. "I will." She and Sam turned and headed off toward the darkened houses.

"What's going on, Winchester?" Chase asked, all business.

"Something's here," he muttered.

"I don't hear anything," Chase said after a moment. She closed her eyes to listen again.

You'll lose them both. The voice mocked him even though it had vanished. What did it mean, both? Sam and Chase? Maddy and Sam? Himself? The thought itself was maddening. Maybe that was the point.

"Are you sure something's around?" Chase asked stepping closer to him.

Dean nodded, "I just don't know where."

"You think it's her?" Chase glanced at the bramble of thorns at her side.

"Maybe, but it wasn't shrieking any creepy names."

"So what was it doing?" Chase looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"What?"

"How do you know it's here? Whatever it is?"

"I just do, okay?" Dean retorted. He grabbed the bag of weapons Sam had brought along. Maybe flares would lure the penangalang in. Hell knew he wanted out of these woods.

"Okay," Chase conceded.

Dean stopped, "You're not going to push?"

"Would you tell me if I did?"

"Probably not." Dean went back to sorting through the flares and salt. Everything was silent for a few precious minutes, but silence had never been Dean's favorite thing. "So," he started, "How long had Madison been living with the pack?"

Chase frowned. "Three months."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Why should I have?"

"It's my brother."

"It's my pack."

"You should have told me." Dean pressed pulling a flare from the bag.

"Why?"

"Because," he said in reply, "I deserved to know."

"Right," Chase laughed, "A self-absorbed jerk like you obviously deserves to know every, single detail about everyone else's life.

"Well, at least I'm not an annoying bitch." He put the flare back. Fire probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Chase sighed. "That's the best insult you can come up with?"

"No," Dean defended, "You're unreliable too."

"Oh, well, in that case."

"You don't just leave a person, Chase."

"What are we talking about now?" Chase asked sitting down where Dean used to be.

"You."

"Oh?" She cocked her head to one side, "And who did I leave?"

"Me."

"You're right. I'm not here. So sorry."

"Cut the sarcasm for a second, would you?" Dean threw the bag down without

taking anything from it.

"Because that's your job?"

"You know what, forget it." Dean turned his back on her.

"Dean," Chase said softly, "Really, I'm sorry. Now what are you talking about?"

"I don't know," he turned back around. "We do we stand?"

"What?" Chase was slightly taken aback. "Stand as in what?"

"You told me I overrode your instincts. Were you telling the truth?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Does it matter?"

"Maybe."

"Yes or no."

"No."

"Yes."

"What?"

"Yes, I was telling the truth." She wasn't looking at him. "But it doesn't matter."

"Why not?" He sat down beside her.

She moved away from him. "You're you, I'm me. Even if we wanted it to, it wouldn't work." She laughed uncomfortably. "Where is this coming from anyway?"

Where was this coming from? "What if I want it to?"

"Do you?"

In an uncharacteristic manner, he took her hand, "I'd like to try."

A smile tried to come across her face, but she quickly pushed it back. "Well, you going to have to work really hard. And none of this fighting. I don't like it. And-" but she was cut short by his lips on hers. "And more of that," she said when he pulled away."

"Agreed." Dean grinned and leaned in to kiss her again.

"It's almost depressing," the voice said again.

Dean shot up.

"Dean?" Chase questioned.

He didn't answer.

"Dean!" she said more urgently, pointing in the direction of the town.

Fireflies were lazily making their way out of the town, and Dean could see a small shape following in their wake.

"Come on, Sammy!" a little girl's voice rang to his ears, "I'll show you how to catch fire bugs!"