Part 3

I should have included this in the heading of the first story but I forgot so… This story takes place between eps 6.16 and 6.17. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't gotten to ep 6.16, I don't want to spoil anything for you. You can consider this story to be taking place in an alternate universe. And, I do not own anything, I am just borrowing.

If you are enjoying this story, let your SPN friends know! The more fans, the more I write. ;) Enjoy!

"Dean," Sam called from the bathroom, "you gonna sleep all day?"

He stretched and grumbled, "I was thinking about it." He'd slept heavily and it had felt good. All he needed was a good breakfast and the company of a beautiful female and he might actually be in a good mood, for a change. He smirked to himself, and noticed when the idea of a beautiful female entered his mind; Raven's face appeared. Dean instantly grimaced. Why had he thought of her? Yeah, she's totally hot but not his type. She reminded him of the women he saw in bars that looked down on him because he wasn't wearing a Rolex. Not to mention the fact that he was still salty that she had gotten the drop on him. Dean sighed when he realized that Sammy was going to want to talk about her. He's like a freakin' bulldog. When that kid gets something in his head, he doesn't let go.

Sam peeked out the bathroom door, toothpaste on his upper lip and said, "We need to talk about Raven."

"Boy, I called that one." Dean mumbled to himself. "Sammy, let me at least get a shower and some coffee before you start in on me."

"Ok, ok, I'm going to see if Raven wants something to eat. Meet us at the diner on the corner."

Before Dean could respond, Sam was gone. "What's his hurry?" Dean mumbled again and started up the shower.

Sam knocked on the door to Raven's room with a smile on his face. He found himself looking forward to seeing her. The feeling was unnerving but nice. It'd been a long time since Sam was eager to see anyone. Raven opened the door and smiled widely, her hair still damp. The humid smell of honeysuckle and lilac wafted past her, ticking Sam's nose. He actually moaned a little, the scent was intoxicating. Again, she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt but unlike last night, she was barefoot. He realized that she was a couple of inches shorter than she had been. That made her downright tiny.

"Morning, Sam. What can I do for you?" She smiled openly and her face lit up. Who was he kidding? The entire planet lit up when this woman smiled.

"Well, Dean's in the shower and I thought you might like to have breakfast with me."

"That sounds great. Would you like to come in while I finish getting ready?" She stepped aside, allowing Sam access to the room before he answered. He supposed his acceptance was a given.

He took a seat as she strode back to the sink and started blow drying her hair. The noise of the dryer precluded the ability to have a conversation so he decided to check out her room. Her bed was already made. The luggage rack held her duffle, which was open and all contents were neatly folded. For heaven's sake, he thought, the room is cleaner than it was when she got here. Staring at her back, he noticed that her toiletries were organized around the sink.

Raven turned off the blow dryer and turned to him. "Sorry," she said, "I hate having wet hair."

"S'ok. I feel the same way. How did you sleep?" Sam continued analyzing her while making small talk. Underneath the scent of her shower, he could swear he smelt pine cleaner.

"I have slept better but because of med school, I can sleep anywhere, anytime. When you are a resident, you learn to grab sleep when you can."

"I'll bet," Sam replied, "Dean and I are the same way, Dean especially. He falls asleep faster than anyone I have ever seen. Less than ten seconds and he is out."

Raven's laughter tinkled across the room. She was putting on mascara with an expert touch only a woman could have. Sam had noticed that even though she was meticulous about her grooming routine, it was an abbreviated one. She did very little to her hair and had put on even less makeup. Grabbing a pair of socks, she situated herself on the bed.

"What about you, Sam? Do you sleep well these days?"

"Having access to Chuck's writings I would think you know the answer to that question." Sam retorted.

Raven considered his response and spoke thoughtfully, "Chuck's writings end with you jumping into the pit with Lucifer and Adam in tow. I don't know much about what has been happening lately. Bobby filled me in on some stuff but he sucks as a story teller."

Sam chuckled, "Yeah, if I needed a story, Bobby would not be my first choice. Asking me would be a bad idea. I don't have any memory of the last year."

"Bobby told me that you were without a soul for a year and that you have the memories behind some sort of wall that Death created for you. Is it true that if you pull that wall down, it could kill you?" Raven looked concerned with the question as she asked it.

Sam sighed and realized that if she is going to be hunting with them, she needed to know everything, "Yeah, it's true. I've poked at it already and what I discovered was none too pleasant."

"Then as a doctor, I suggest you stop poking and leave it alone. A wound will never heal if you keep picking at it." Raven gave him a small smile and tilted her head toward him, "Sam, you and your brother are too important to the future to have one of you being a drooling vegetable."

He snapped to attention, "We are important to the future? What does that mean?"

Raven quickly turned her attention to putting on her cowboy boots. Her agitated nature suggested that she had, yet again, said too much. Instead of being annoyed, Sam was all the more intrigued. He loved a mystery and Raven was surely turning out to be one.

Dean was sitting at a table in the coffee shop Sam suggested, getting more annoyed by the minute that he and Raven weren't here. Sam getting some action was not a problem for Dean. It was the fact that Sam woke him up. He could have been sleeping while Sam was getting freaky with the snotty bitch.

Wow, Dean thought to himself, that was harsh. She really hadn't given him a reason to feel that way about her. There was just something about this woman that got under his skin. Her haughty and know-it-all attitude didn't help. It was like dealing with a female version of Sam. The thought made him shudder.

Dean was taking another sip of coffee when Sam and Raven entered the diner. They were smiling and laughing like they had known each other for years. What the hell?

Sam gave Dean a nod of acknowledgement and led Raven to the table just as the waitress was refilling Dean's coffee cup.

"Thanks for waiting, Dean. Sorry about that. Raven wasn't quite ready when I got to her room." Sam said sincerely.

"No need to apologize, Sam. Perfectly understandable." Dean winked at Sam.

Raven's look would have frozen any other man, "We were talking, you pig."

Dean's answering stare would have intimidated any other woman, "Yeah, ok…" He stopped short. He was going to make a crack about her questionable choices in men when he noticed that underneath the loathing of her gaze, there was hurt. Dean had offended her with the assumption. And for some reason that he couldn't understand, he was sorry. With his train of thought interrupted, he actually looked at the woman sitting across from him. In the daylight, she was even hotter than she was last night. Damn, Dean thought to himself, if Sammy doesn't hit that, he's a fool.

The waitress made an appearance to get Sam and Raven's orders. Sam got pancakes and coffee. Raven ordered an egg white omelet and wheat toast with no butter. When asked if she wanted coffee, she asked for orange juice. Dean couldn't help himself and asked, "You don't drink coffee? How in the hell do you function?"

"I have never drank coffee. It's terrible for your body. I eat lots of protein and whole grains." Raven replied with authority.

There's the attitude again, Dean thought. "What are you, a doctor?"

Sam grinned at Dean and answered, "Yeah, Dean. She is a doctor."

Dean was completely caught off guard, "You are really a doctor, Raven?" It was the first time he hadn't addressed her with contempt.

Apparently she was just as surprised with Dean's change in attitude as he was, "Yes, Dean, I am a pediatric vascular surgeon," she said politely.

"You didn't tell me that," Sam commented. Dean noticed that he sounded a little wounded.

"Well, Sam, now that you know my specialty, you should be able to find out who I am easily enough. There aren't many of us in the U.S." Raven replied with resignation.

Sam smiled at her softly, "If you don't want me to know, I won't go looking. You'll tell me when you are ready."

Raven's body responded by immediately relaxing and her answering smile was dazzling. Dean found himself unable to look away from her and at the same time, he felt like an intruder on what felt like a private moment.

Luckily, the waitress interrupted with their food and coffee refills. The rest of the meal was mostly small talk between Sam and Raven with Dean listening on, still feeling like he was out of place there. After the plates were cleared, Dean decided to discuss the proverbial elephant in the room.

"Raven, you are not hunting with us. I'm sorry but no matter how qualified Bobby and Cass think you are, we are about to deal with some serious crap and I can't be worrying about Dr. Quinn here getting hurt."

Sam started to argue but Dean held his hand up, "Sammy, this isn't up for debate. You know what's going on right now and we can't be responsible for anyone else."

"Excuse me, Dean, I can take care of myself just fine. The truth is that you have a problem with me. Look, I'm sorry I attacked you last night. But you cocked a gun near my head and my reflexes took over." The words implied apology but Dean got the feeling there was little sincerity behind them.

"That has nothing to do with my decision. Sam and I aren't your typical hunters. Bad stuff, and I do mean bad, seeks us out, not the other way around." Dean said quickly, his voice deepening with anger.

Sam interrupted, "Dean, Cass gave her copies of Chuck's books. She knows everything up until I jumped into the pit."

Dean was again surprised and questioned Raven, "So, you know what we've been through and you still want to hunt with us? You are crazier than I gave you credit for, Lady."

"What ever gave you the idea that I want to hunt with you? I wasn't seeking out the two of you. Cass found me and gave me no choice. You might relish disobeying Heaven's wishes but this isn't something I can run from. Take from that what you want to but I have to go with you and Sam, like it or not. If you won't let me come, I am just going to follow you. And be warned, I am an excellent tracker."

Raven's words weren't cocky. They rang of truth and confidence. Dean admitted to himself that she probably could track them pretty well. If she had read Chuck's writings, she knew all their aliases and typical hangouts. Not to mention that Cass or Bobby would just tell her where they were, even if they could lose her.

"Can I offer a compromise here?" Sam interjected, "Raven, last night you mentioned a job. Tell us about it, please."

She leaned in toward Dean so she could lower her voice in the quiet diner. "I found an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about a college student who was run down in the parking lot of a Burger World in Bedford, Ohio."

"So," Dean interrupted, "that's hardly our thing."

Raven sighed, "Please let me finish. At the scene, there were no tire marks and the victim suffered massive injuries that would have required a vehicle that weighs significantly more that even the heaviest production vehicles. "

Dean was about to interrupt again and she silenced him with a look, "The oddest thing is that the intersection where the Burger World is located is in downtown Bedford and always busy, even at the time of night the incident occurred. Witnesses saw the victim running away from her car and reported a loud metallic screeching and an even louder sound of an engine but none of them 'saw' anything." Raven looked at Dean, "Still think it's not our thing?"

"She's right Dean, we really should check that out." Sam stated plainly. Dean got the feeling Sam would go to a Flea Market if she asked him. "I propose a compromise. Let's work this job together and see how it goes. No commitment, no promises. What do you think, Dean?"

He took a second to think. Dean knew Sammy would pout if he didn't at least try his compromise. They would work the job and then Sam would see what he was talking about. Dean looks like the good guy and she's out of our hair. Nice.

"Ok, Sammy, that sounds reasonable. You ok with that, Bird Lady?" Dean mocked.

Raven leveled another chilly look, "Yes, Dick, that is acceptable."

"In that case, we need to hit the road." Dean called the waitress, "'Scuse me, Sweetheart, can we get the check?"