A/N: Because I missed it yesterday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SPECIAL BOY THAT I LOVE SO MUCH. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAN!

I woke up with the taste of stomach bile and pure sugar in my mouth and a railroad spike being forced between my eyes. Is this it? Is this how it ends? With the world's most wicked Twinkie, whiskey, and wine induced hangover to ever exist? This wasn't good. I couldn't stop shaking and the thought of a blanket repulsed me. I've been hungover before (and hiding it from the nuns was not easy), but I've never felt anything like this. Settle down, Lena. Settle down. Why couldn't I do that?

The hotel room had gotten too hot and I had the air conditioning as high as it would go. The indoor thermometer read fifty degrees and I was still drenched in sweat. I couldn't stand it anymore. My clothes were too constricting, so layer by layer, I peeled them off until I was in my underwear. What the hell kind of hangover was this? Even thought I was two pieces of clothing away from being totally naked, I still couldn't get comfortable. Nor could I stop shaking. At this point, I'd usually start praying, but the thought of who would listen on the other end terrified me. I might as well have a homing beacon.

"Lena, I'm back," Crowley came in with a box of donuts and a bag in his hand while I was barely on this side of seizing. Without realizing what was going on, he immediately covered his eyes, "What happened to your clothes? I was gone ten minutes!"

"Bigger fish," I shook, "What the hell is going on with me?"

"What do you mean?" he peeked through his fingers and saw me in my sorry state. He ran to my bedside and put his hand to my forehead, "Oh, Lena, sweetheart, you're burning up."

"Thank you, Crowley," I snapped, scared out of my mind, "I already knew that. When you can offer something useful, I'd love to hear it."

"Hurtful," Crowley got me a bottle of grape juice out of our little fridge and opened it for me, "Here. Drink this. You'll feel better. Not too much at once, though, or it won't stay down."

I took long, steady drinks and began to feel the knot in my stomach come undone. That was quick, "Thank you..."

"You're welcome," he wrapped a blanket around me and cradled me against his chest, "How do you feel now? Better?"

"Tons," I looked the bottle over with a hint of skepticism. Not ten seconds ago, I feel like I'm at Death's door. A few drinks of grape juice later and I'm fine? Weird.

"If you're up for it," Crowley suggested, "There's a job a few hours from here."

"A job?" I perked up. It's been a while since I did any hunting. I'm so out of practice, "Where at?"

"Philadelphia," he reported, "There's been a small faction of demons still on Team Lucifer and...Well, we can't have that, can we?"

"Honestly," I shrugged, "If they're not killing anyone, I could give a crap less whose side they're on."

"Think of it this way," Crowley flipped it around, "How long has it been since you let off a little steam, Lena? And I mean, really let off some steam?"

"I'm not nearly as angry of a person as you think I am," I finished off my grape juice and threw my shirt back on, "If you piss me off, yeah. I'll want to deck you. But I don't really have steam to let off. That's what drinking's for."

"Come on, Lena," he begged, "Rogue demons are bad for business. Please? If you won't do it for the fun of bashing a demon's brains in, will you do it for me? Your buddy, your pal, your best friend?"

"I love you, Crowley," I assured, 'But I've gone legit. I don't feel like demon bashing. And I thought you said that you and me hanging around was about nothing but fun. I don't want to be working a job."

"Fine," he let out a heavy sigh, "I guess I could call a certain dynamic duo to take care of it. Then, I'm sure they'll want to see me. So, I'll just toodle my way to Philadelphia and would you look at that? Who do I happen to have tagging along with me? Their beloved little sister that doesn't want to be a burden on her big brothers. Because she wants to prove she doesn't need them in order to stand on her own like the strong, independent woman she thinks she is."

"Alright! I get it!" I growled, "That was low, you dick."

"No one ever said demons had the moral high ground," Crowley brushed me off, "So? Does your sudden change in attitude mean you'll do it?"

"Yeah," I rolled my eyes, "I'll do it. Only because now, I have some steam to let off. And since you're a lot stronger than me, I can't put my fist in your face. Those demons are going to have to do."

"A sacrifice I'm willing to make," he beamed, "Now, go get dressed and get packed. We leave in ten minutes."

"Good enough for me."

I finished putting my pants back on and stepped out onto our balcony for a minute or two. On the plus side, I didn't feel hungover anymore. In fact, I felt amazing. Like...Last night, amazing. Like I could punch a hole in the wall and not feel anything from the recoil. Crowley was right. I guess I was going to get hooked on the adrenaline. I mean, I'm still not quitting smoking, but this would do, too.

Once I got myself together, we headed out a couple hours north to Philadelphia. Demons, huh? Nothing I've never handled before. Hell, I've been hanging out with one for the past month. I've even beat on that particular demon at one time. As much as I loved Crowley to death, I must admit. That was a little fun. At the time, I did feel bad about it, but given his last threat about calling in the boys, catharsis kicked in and I didn't feel half as bad about it anymore.

Just as we pulled into town, a melancholic saxophone solo came from my car speakers. I knew this one. This one was a jam. As we continued down the road, I started humming it. I had a list of songs that were impossible for me to not start singing along to when I'm in the right mood. This was one of them.

"On a long and lonesome highway," I sang to myself, "East of Omaha. You can listen to the engine moaning out his one note song. You can about the woman or the girl you knew the night before..."

"Really?" Crowley gave me a look, "I know you were riding around in the back of that Impala for a while, but did those two really rub off on you that much?"

"I liked Bob Segar before I met the boys," I admitted, "Sue me."

"It just caught me by surprise," he let it go. But then, I heard him humming along, too.

"Here I am," I went on, "On the road again. Here I am, up on the stage. Here I go, playing the star again. There I go…Turn the page…"

I got lost in the words of Bob Segar and didn't even realize we had already pulled into yet another ridiculously nice hotel. I don't know why Crowley was spoiling me like this, but a girl could definitely get used to it. Maybe this was payment for me taking out the demons in the middle of the afternoon. I'm guessing this is going to be an easy in, easy out job. At least I hope so. I have the energy to do it, but I lack the ambition. Oh well.

After we got settled in (a two-bedroom suite, nice balcony, nice bathroom, hot tub. Not complaining.), Crowley and I took off yet again to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. What is with demons and abandoned warehouses? Granted, I don't see demons hanging out at a Chuck E. Cheese, but still. At this point, it has to be a fetish.

This was not how I intended spending my afternoon, but it's something to do. Not like I had anything else going on today. Regardless, I had demon ass to kick. Four of them, by the looks of the place. They looked like some low-level demons. What the hell? This was below my paygrade. I took out Lucifer, for God's sake!

"Are you serious?" I glared over at my demon cohort, "You insult me?"

"No insults intended," Crowley assured, "I just need them taken out. Who better to ask than you?"

"Even when I first started hunting," I rolled my eyes, "I could've taken these guys out in my sleep."

"And you still can," he insisted, "But I want you to try something different than your usual fighting tactics."

"What?" I scoffed, "Now I'm doing party tricks? Come on, Crowley. I'm better than that."

"Here," Crowley gave me a flask out of his pocket, "Take a drink of this first."

"Day drinking, are we?" I opened it up and took a hit from it, "Ooh! Hell wine! Fun!"

"Now, focus," he coached me, "I want you to look at that demon right there."

Some guy sat on the edge of the loading dock, screwing around on his phone. He looked pretty harmless. Then again, he was also demon scum. And on Lucifer's side, too. This guy couldn't have been one of Crowley's. That would've been bad enough, but Lucifer? Come on, my dude. I know you're probably not much better than that, but you picked the wrong side to be on.

"What am I supposed to be looking at here?" I wondered.

"Concentrate," Crowley ordered, "Take your hand, stretch it out toward him."

"For what reason?" I did as he said, feeling like a moron, but I did it anyway.

"Because it looks cool," he shrugged, "Just trust me. Concentrate. Take a deep breath and imagine you're pulling the demon out of the vessel."

Alright. Why not give it the old college try? Lena, you didn't even graduate high school. I mean, you got your GED in your downtime, but whatever. Deep breath. Imagining that I'm pulling the demon out of the vessel. All of a sudden, a piercing headache worse than the one from this morning struck, making me lose my balance, "Crowley, I can't do that."

"Yes, you can," Crowley helped me back up, "Try it again."

"What did I even do?" I stumbled back to my feet.

"Try it again," he repeated.

"Alright," I didn't have the energy to fight him. Let's try this again. Deep breath, hand out, pull the demon out. Before I knew it, I felt a surge of power coursing through my body. The guy sitting on the loading dock started convulsing. And I could see it. I saw the black smoke coming out of his throat. If I would've let go, it probably would've snapped back like a rubber band, but that's not what we were here for. I held the cloud of black smoke in the air.

"Now, crush it," Crowley demanded as I balled my hand into a fist. And just like that, the black smoke disappeared out of existence. I don't know what happened, but that was cool as hell. Crowley threw his arms around me, squeezing me tight, "That's my girl. Very well done, Lena. Very well done."

"That was awesome!" I squeaked, "How did I do that?"

"I have a little confession to make," he admitted, "You know that wine I gave you last night?"

"Yeah?"

"It's not meant to be consumed by full blooded humans," Crowley confessed, "But since you drank it and came out on top, you seem to be the exception. I wanted to see if it gave you any added perks and by the looks of that demon, it did."

"And the vessel?" I worried, "What's going to happen to him?"

"You did more than just exorcise him," he explained, "You killed the demon inside him. I'm sure the vessel will be fine."

"And how long is this going to last?" I wondered, "Because this feels pretty bitchin'."

"As long as you want it to," Crowley cradled my face in the palm of his hand, "As long as you want it to."

"Awesome," I beamed, "Because I never want this feeling to go away."

"It does my heart good to hear you say that," he praised, "Now, you've had a long day, darling. Let's go back to the hotel, take advantage of the amenities, and hit it hard in the morning."

"What about the others?" I asked, getting into the driver's seat. If I didn't know any better, I'd think I saw someone going up to the vessel, but once I blinked, they were gone. Must be seeing things.

"We only needed to send a message," Crowley assured, "I'm sure they'll get the hint."

I fired up the engine and drove us back to the hotel. Instead of taking advantage of the amenities our five-star hotel had to offer, I was looking for something a little more down to earth than the penthouse view. Besides, I've had to practically starve myself while I was Roxie Hart and I had the world's worst craving for a cheeseburger. With bacon. And A1. My brother would be so proud. Well…One of them anyway.

I took a seat at the counter and ordered my big ass cheeseburger and a milkshake to match. Bye, bye, diet. I wish I could say it was nice knowing you, but honestly, it sucked and you can kiss my ass. When I took my first bite, I had to grit my teeth and grab a hold of the counter. Mother of god…It was the most beautiful thing I've ever tasted. I come all the way to Philadelphia and I order a burger. Hot damn, they know how to treat their meat.

"Hello, Lena…"

A/N: Because I'm a dick and have a problem with cliffhangers. This chapter is taking a very interesting turn. And it's going to take an even more interesting turn next week. Just you wait, friends. Who could be standing behind our dear friend Lena? It could be a few people, but…well, you'll find out soon enough. But Crowley's been an awful sweetheart for the most part. I had to give him a little bit of a dick move in this. Honestly, it's the most Crowley thing Crowley's done all story long. Other than the skulking around Lena's dressing room, but beside the point. See you next chapter! xx