Has Your Opinion Changed?

Packing up everything to leave was relatively quick and easy because I hadn't finished unpacking the majority of the clothes that I had just bought. I threw a couple of filled bags into the box that I had found in the laundry room and whatever didn't fit in there was shoved into two duffle bags that I had uncovered in a closet. During my rush to get everything done before the creature that was trying to pretend to be my husband could get home I paused only once to stare at the red velvet dress that I had been compelled to buy.

With a hard scowl still etched on my face, I looked down at the dress I was now wearing while saying (more to myself than to the angel that was seated across the table from me) "I don't think I've ever even owned a dress like this."

"Well you should because every woman should have a dress like that in her closet."

I quickly snatched the gown off its hanger before I could chicken out and shoved it deep into one of the duffle bags. I bit my lip hard and tried my best to ignore the embarrassed flush that had started burning across my skin. I kept telling myself that if an Arc Angel thought that this particular article of clothing should be a part of my wardrobe then who was I to argue with him?

After I had ensured that I had everything that I would need packed up, I found myself staring at the door of the safe in the bed room. Edgar hadn't been too concerned with concealing the combination anytime that he had opened it, so I had seen the five digits that were used to unlock it on more than one occasion. But for some reason I just stood there staring at it, completely motionless.

"Just because he hasn't hurt you yet doesn't mean that he won't if he's ordered to… He isn't a man Addy, he's a thing," I told myself out loud. "Come on Addy you have to get home," I ordered myself as I tried to suppress any feelings of guilt that were threatening to surface. Deep down I knew that Edgar was actually possessed by one of the things that had held on even after Castiel had purged the souls back into Purgatory, but he had never treated me that way. Even though I was aware of that I couldn't just let myself hate him, couldn't bring myself to think completely negatively about him because he had actually been caring and kind to me. He had tended to my every need, but I just kept trying to remind myself that that was only and means to their ends and I knew what these things wanted from me, so I had to leave before they could put their plan into action.

"You need to let Toby and Dean know that you're alright… That you're alive," I tried coaching myself yet again to prohibit the feeling of sorrow that I was feeling from growing.

"Addy? I was calling you… Were… Were you ignoring me?" Toby's voice echoed in my mind as I finally forced my hand to move towards the keypad. While I started punching in the code a still frame of Dean flashing the camera a bright and somewhat menacing smile from one of the videos of the Winchesters' killing spree replaced the picture of Toby in my mind's eye. I focused on his face so that I could shake away the fog that had been clouding my judgment.

I no longer felt like I was moving through a sea of molasses as soon as I started pulling out stacks of bills and shoved them into a backpack while thinking to myself, And you really need to find out what the fuck is going on with Dean and Sam right now… Maybe you can help to get them back on track.

Once the safe was empty, I loaded myself up with all of my bags, slipped my phone into my pocket, balanced the box of clothes on my hip, grabbed my keys and then headed out towards my car. The moment I stepped foot into the garage, I nearly panicked because I had forgotten that the day before I had been in such a rush to get dinner started that I hadn't wanted to wait for the garage door, so I parked the car at the end of the driveway… Out in the open where any of the neighbors could see me trying to make my escape. Neighbors that were more than likely creatures just like Edgar that had probably been ordered to spy on me to make sure that I didn't stray too far from where they wanted me to be or from doing what they thought that I was supposed to be doing.

"You HAVE to get out of here," I tried to order myself more forcefully when I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "The only way you can do that is by getting out to the car. Come on Addy, you can do this."

It would probably do you a lot of good to move past chatting with the same neighbors all of the time. Edgar's voice reverberated in the back of my mind as a reminder that I shouldn't let my paranoia get the best of me. After all it was him that had encouraged me to go out and explore my surroundings, right? Even if the neighbors were spies they wouldn't stop me from following my 'husband's' wishes, would they?

"Lonnie! Lonnie!" A voice called out insistently behind me.

I slowly stopped walking, took a deep breath then turned and forced my mouth to curve into a smile answering, "Oh… Hey… Julia… I didn't see you there."

Please just go back into your house. Please don't… Please don't stop me, I silently pleaded as she continued to approach me. Please just let me go.

"Lonnie…? Where are you running off to Hun?" She asked in a sickenly sweet tone.

Home, I thought with a tearful sob in my mind. I swallowed hard, hoping that I didn't look or sound overly guilty before answering, "Well… After my not so small shopping trip a little while back, I sort of need to make some room in my closet for it all."

"Oh…? Really…?" She eyed me up and down with her skepticism more than evident and then she grasped the handle of one of the duffle bags that was painfully digging into my shoulder.

Julia slowly slipped it off of my body as I continued to explain, "I didn't really feel right putting everything into garbage bags." She nodded then took a couple of steps towards my car. Even though she didn't seem to be objecting, I couldn't stop myself from continuing my now unnecessary explanation, "There are a few new things too… That I never got around to wearing… I umm… I figured that there must be someone that could put them to good use… You know…? Umm… Since I'm so blessed and all…. I just wanted to try to extend that onto someone else…"

Julia stopped cold in her tracks and I instantly kicked myself for not shutting up sooner. I was sure that I had piqued her suspicion by offering one too many excuses… That I had broken the illusion of friendship by offering details that she hadn't asked for… For details she didn't really need.

Less is more Kola Bear, Bobby's amused voice rang out in my mind. Less is more…

"Now come on… Here… I seriously cannot believe that Victoria didn't go over this with you…"

I stepped over to his open arms hesitantly and only raised my eyes when he gently touched my forearm. I hated that I hadn't passed this test with ease, but my anger was instantly over taken by my feelings of embarrassment at not excelling during one of Bobby's tests, even if he was being nicer about it than John usually had been in similar situations.

He led me to a chair in the center of his study and then after I was seated he turned his back on me saying, "Alright Addy… When he… When one of them walks up to you, first you have to look confident… Which means sitting up straight…" I instantly pushed my shoulders back, arched my back slightly and quirked an eyebrow to question if that was straight enough for his liking. Bobby shook his head with an uncomfortable chuckle, "Umm… Yeah… Something like that… Now… If he asks you, 'Where are you going in such a hurry?'… You answer…?"

"I guess I could answer something like this…" I batted my eyes as the tip of my tongue slowly traced the interior line of my lips and coyly said, "'Was I speeding? I'm so sorry officer, I didn't notice because…'" After a small but suggestive nip at my top lip, I slumped in my chair then finished in a slightly exasperated and annoyed tone, "Then I insert some generic family emergency like 'I need to get home because my Nana's sick' or 'my mom's been rushed to the hospital'… Right?"

Bobby stared at me slightly stunned before he swallowed hard then scowled hard replying, "Adelaide…" He threw his hands up in the air in a gesture of absolute defeat then turned his back on me announcing, "If you aren't going to take any of this seriously…"

As Bobby started to stalk out of the room, I jumped to my feet somewhat playfully pleading, "Oh come on Bobby! Tell me I didn't convince you to let me out of the speeding ticket! Bobby…! Bobby! Aww… Seriously! I'm sorry! Come back… I kept the explanation simple this time… Bobby! Please…? I promise I'll be more serious from now on, okay?"

Once Julia had slowly dug her heel into the sidewalk to pivot on it and had turned fully around, she forced some tears to glisten in her vessel's eyes to make her sound more sincere as she replied, "That sounds so… So…"

Her words seemed to get caught in her throat so I added, "I just want to remind Edgar of some of the reasons why he… Uhh… Loves me since… You know… I've been so… It's been so difficult on him with my amnesia and all…"

"Of course you do Lonnie," she replied as she set the bag she was carrying down by the rear passenger tire. "And you have somewhere in mind to take everything?"

Since she didn't seem to be objecting to this course of action, I quickly unlocked the trunk answering, "Oh yeah, I found somewhere on-line last night and called them today."

"That's good… That's good…" Julia repeated almost absentmindedly.

After everything was secured in the trunk, I stepped up beside Julia and before I could speak, she squeezed my hand saying, "He has always said that you have the most generous heart…" After a brief moment of silence, Julia more jovially commented, "Alright… Well… We still have to pick a date for me to make you and Edgar that 'Welcome to the neighborhood' dinner, so just pop by once you're done, okay?"

I nodded then forced myself not to sigh audibly before answering, "Right, yeah… We do… I don't think… I mean, I shouldn't be more than a couple of hours…"

"Sounds good! I'll see you then!" Julia offered with a wave as she made her way back towards her house.

I finally sighed loudly once I was alone behind the wheel of the car that Edgar had chosen for me to drive. After a few more cleansing breaths, I opened my eyes and took in the view of the interior of this car.

"Gross… A Ford Taurus?" I questioned aloud. "Could you be more generic Mister Monster from Purgatory? I… I never thought that I would start to miss Phantom this much since everything that happened in Hell… But this… Driving this… Ugh torture."

The worker behind the counter didn't seem to notice me at all, so I purposefully dropped one of my heavier bags on the ground. She turned around slowly then slightly rolled her eyes before putting down her cell phone and stepping closer to me. I was half tempted just to turn and leave but my desperation superseded my anger and desire to be dramatic, so I remained in my spot. Plus this was the only rental place that didn't have a line up close to a mile long, but now it was painfully obvious why.

"Welcome to Lariat," the worker announced in an unenthusiastic tone. "We're here so you can… 'Go places'… How can I help you?"

I couldn't help but match her sarcastic tone as I replied, "I'd like to rent a sleigh." She stared at me completely wide eyed so I smiled more easily saying, "I'd just like a sport's car… Uhh… Tracey."

Tracey just barely held back her snort of indignation to make her distain for my joke more than apparent before turning and answering, "Let me check the computer. I'll need your Driver's License and a credit card."

I pulled out my wallet that I had found in a hidden pocket of the jacket I had been wearing before being knocked out back at Bobby's house and fished out a piece of ID. Since everyone had known me as 'Lonnie Beale' back in 'Monsterland', I figured that I couldn't use that name without being detected, so I fished out one with a different name. I took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly as I pulled out a Debit/Credit card in the same name. I didn't use many aliases, but it still made me sad to think that after today that I would have to shred this one and abandon using it forever to keep the Leviathans off my scent.

She snatched them up from the counter top explaining, "Well I have a PT Cruiser or a Ford Mustang depending on your budget Ms.… Wells."

"The Mustang will be fine," I replied inwardly cringing at her insinuation that a PT Cruiser could be considered a sports car. "And it's Rusty," I couldn't resist adding before picking up my bags to leave.

After all of my bags were loaded into the trunk, I tore into the packaging of the cell phone charger I had bought on my way to the airport. After my Blackberry was plugged in, it took all of my will power not to try to listen to the voicemails that were waiting for me right then and there. I knew it would be too awkward to drive while holding the phone because of the tightly coiled cord of the charger, so I played with the dials on the radio instead to distract me, hoping that music would calm me like it had in the past.

After I had gotten lunch from a random drive through, I pulled into a rest stop to finally turn my attention to my phone once again. The battery continued to charge and was at fifty percent, so I held down the button labeled "1" and waited for the automated voice to start before putting it on speaker phone. As it clicked over from the handset to the speakers, I missed hearing exactly how many calls that had reached the voicemail system. Of course given the list of all the days "Derek" and "Darren" had tried calling (with multiple calls each day), I knew that Toby's and Dean's messages would be increasingly panicked as they filled my voicemail inbox to capacity.

"Addy?" Toby started before he sobbed loudly. "Addy? Please… Please pick up… I… I think I found something that you and the guys were looking for… Please?" He sniffled snottily then continued with a rushed, "Whatever I did, I'm so sorry… Please? I didn't mean to make you mad… Please call me back…" I could barely make out the end of his message through his tears but I was pretty sure that he said a quiet 'I love you' before hanging up.

I listened to a couple more of Toby's messages and started crying in response to hearing the gut wrenchingly sad tone that filled every word that he committed to my voicemail. I was starting to sob too loudly to hear the next few messages. I let them continue to play while trying to calm my breathing and I gasped loudly when I finally heard Bobby's voice.

"Hey Koala Bear…" I could hear him swallow hard and figured that he was trying to force himself to keep an even tone. "We just need to know that you're okay… So call any of us, alright? We all have our phones on… And… We miss you, so… Call us."

"Bobby…" I whispered as I brushed some more tears away while I also deleted a bunch of messages without listening to them.

I was half tempted to just delete all of the remaining messages without listening to them, but then I heard a breathy, "Lay…? Lay…? Baby, you really need to start answering your damn phone… DR. GAINES TO ROOM 303 DR GAINES… (A voice over the PA drowned out part of Dean's message) … Out of the hospital… I don't know where we're headed but… I'll call when I know more… Lay…? I… I'm… I know you're… But… Still… Uhh… I love you."

My tears started to fall with a renewed vigor after that message because I could tell that Dean was pointedly trying to sound like it was business as usual, but wasn't fully succeeding. From what he was saying, I could only assume that he thought that I was gone, dead again without saying goodbye, and that he was just trying to go through the motions to maintain some sense of normalcy while everything was crashing down around him. He was leaving a message for a dead woman and he never expected for me to receive it, so I knew that the sobs that I heard during every pause weren't imaginary and I felt so nauseated that I knew that eating was completely out of the question.

"Hey Addy!" Toby's cheerful voice followed Dean's somber message. "Huh… You still can't answer your phone… Okay… Well I'll try you again later! Love you!"

A pinching sensation on my stomach roused me from my slumber, but I hesitated from opening my eyes. I was sincerely hoping that I wouldn't be waking up outside of the hospital that I was sure that Dean would have taken me to after Sydney had stabbed a chisel deep into my gut, but right now I didn't completely trust my memory.

Suddenly the painful pinch transformed into a warm comforting touch that radiated throughout my body and into my soul. My right hand moved on its own and covered the hand of my visitor that was resting on my mid-section as I quietly greeted him with my eyes still closed, "Hey Castiel."

If he had looked surprised by my statement, he had gotten over it by the time that I opened my eyes to confirm that it really was him. With a bright smile in his eyes he replied, "It's good to see you awake Adelaide."

There was still a soft white light being emitted through his palm, so I gently stroked the back of his hand observing, "And I'm pretty sure we all have you to thank for that Castiel… And hey…? Can you please cut the formal bull, please?" A couple of tears escaped my eyes despite my attempt to joke away some of the pain before I hoarsely continued, "Castiel… Cas… What the hell are we going to do without you?"

"Addy?" He questioned with his confusion at my question being more than evident, "Why…? Why are you talking as if I am already gone or that I'll soon be dead?"

I sat up and pulled him closer to my side once he was finished healing my wound and then I explained as lovingly as I could, "Because you pretty much will be once you're done with Purgatory and all. Dean's not going to back down and you're obviously going to be just as stubborn, so we're all going to… At the very least, grow apart from you. Then… Then it will be like you are dead to us… Not that that's a good thing, or something I want, but it's just what's going to most likely happen…"

I somehow managed not to cry but did shudder profusely when Castiel gently caressed one of my cheeks. His features softened ever so slightly for a brief moment before he hardened his gaze once again and replied, "Well then you should be even more grateful for this…"

His right hand slid from my cheek towards my hair during his declaration. As his left hand moved to join his right hand on the opposite side of my head, I ripped his right hand away from my head and nearly shrieked, "And what the hell is 'this'?"

Castiel glared at me and tried to place his right hand against my temple again. I ducked under it and jumped off the bed so that it would be between us. Thankfully Castiel had learned from his experience when he healed Maureen and he had already removed all of the electrodes and all of the other wires that had connected my body to the various monitors and machines, so my escape route was completely clear.

Once I was off the bed, I stared the angel down and tried my best to get a read on his thoughts from his facial features. He was mirroring my expression while doing the same and showed his frustration at my reluctance to allow him to proceed as he had planned. When I felt confident that I had figured out what he meant to do, I shrunk back and away from him with my hand gripping desperately at my hospital gown, just above my heart.

"No Cas… No… Please don't do it…" I pleaded while trying not to cry again. "Please don't take him away from me…? Please? Not again…? I love him… We… We promised each other that we would be together no matter how bad things get… Please, please don't do this… Please? I'm begging you."

He seemed to be slightly shocked by my reaction, but he wouldn't be dissuaded as he answered, "I'm sorry Adelaide, but Dean asked me to do this for him and I'm trying to make some sort of amends with him and these are his terms."

"Please Castiel… What about what I'm asking you? Do my feelings not matter at all to you? Does what I want mean nothing?" I countered without any concern for having to guilt trip him while I fished my knife out of my jacket in case I had to resort to banishing him with a blood sigil to keep him from following through with Dean's wishes. While I spoke and moved, I didn't take my eyes off Castiel and his eyes stayed locked with mine, but I knew that didn't mean he wasn't aware of what I was doing. "Please? Don't I get a say? I mean they are MY memories and all… Don't I get to choose if I keep them or not?"

The angel visibly slumped in his place and then he hung his head in relative defeat. I dropped my knife back into my jacket's pocket so that I could walk over to him and take his hand in mine in the hopes that that physical connection would tip the scales in my favor.

He sighed, blinked slowly and then looked me in the eye saying, "Alright Addy… I won't, but…"

I got up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek then stroked it gently with my thumb sweetly interrupting, "Don't worry about Dean. I'll take care of him… He won't be upset with you over this… He'll know I did this, not you… Okay?"

He nodded gently and moved to walk away, but stopped when he felt me squeeze his arm tightly once again as I quietly asked, "Castiel? Can I ask you to do a favor for me?" I couldn't read his thoughts by the expression on his face so I added, "I know that I have absolutely no right to, but I would be eternally grateful to you if you did… And would return the favor if I was able to…"

As he nodded in response again, he answered, "What is it that I can do for you Addy?"

After a soft, inaudible sigh I humbly asked, "Can you…? I mean, would you do that to Toby instead? Oh… And his parents?" My request seemed to confuse the angel, so I clarified by saying, "Just make him… Them... Forget that last night ever happened plus everything painful that caused them any tears over the last five years because of my actions or choices."

"But Adelaide… Addy that would mean…"

"Him never knowing who I really am and his parents forgetting they ever knew that I gave birth to him," I answered somewhat confidently. "I know… But it's what's best for all of them." Castiel didn't seem to be convinced, so I squeezed his hand then tried once again. "I just want him to go back to how he was before all of this drama, when he still did the things that made him happy. I know that right now he's worrying about how he's going to make Dean and me proud by becoming harder so that he can be a better hunter. I… He… He shouldn't have to do that… Not unless it's what he really wants… And if he's putting mine and Dean's feelings first then it isn't really what he wants."

That explanation seemed to do its job because Castiel's face lit up with recognition. As I hugged him, he pressed me close to him and replied, "Okay Addy, I can do that… For you and the Connors." After he felt me relax in his arms, he added, "But I do need to ask something of you."

I kept my hands locked at the small of his back then leaned out of his embrace so that I could look up at him saying, "I'm sure that it's the least that I can do for you… What do you need from me Castiel?"

"I need you to have faith in me… I need you to believe with your whole heart and soul that I can stop Raphael."

His request took me somewhat by surprise, so I held both of his cheeks then resolutely proclaimed, "Of course I do Castiel… I know that you can stop him… And… We… We'll always have your back. That's what friends are for."

We stared into each other's eyes for a minute then for some reason he leaned down and chastely kissed me on the lips. I stood frozen for a minute and then I reciprocated causing him to step out of the embrace and disappear.

I took a cab from the airport after I returned my rental and had him drop me off at the end of Bobby's driveway because I didn't want to have to try to explain the damage he most likely would be able to see that had been afflicted on Bobby's home. I had tried to mentally prepare myself for what I was going to see once I got back to South Dakota, but the effects of the fire were far more devastating than having had bared witness to the fire itself so long ago. I could almost still smell the charred remains of the house's wooden frame even though I knew that more than enough time had passed so that any remnants of flames would have completely faded away to non-existence by now and that it was all just in my mind.

My duffle bag fell off my shoulder as I started to shake with undeniable sorrow unconsciously. They called you, they're all fine… It's you they think died here… They're fine… I thought to myself as I walked towards the car that Bobby had been allowing me to use. Thankfully the trunk was still open so I dumped my bags beside the ones that housed the majority of my ancestors' books that I had packed in there long ago as I reminded myself once again, Come on Addy! You HAVE to find Dean! Now!

I forced myself to move away from the blackened remains of the place that I had considered my home for a brief time so that I could drive to a place that I once cringed at the thought of ever considering it my true home. Every time I returned to the house that my Poppy had built, I completely marveled at its ability to remain relatively unchanged. The paint still looked practically brand new and none of the outdoor furniture was ever rusted or out of place. The only way to truly tell that any time had passed was that the weeds in each of the gardens had completely taken over and made them look depressingly neglected.

As I parked the car, I couldn't help but smile as so many of my happy memories flooded into my consciousness. Dean and I hand only spent roughly a year or maybe less here together, but we had definitely made it our home during that brief time. When he had first returned to Kidder to live with me, Dean had promised that he was going to replace every unpleasant memory that I had here with new experiences together that would always remind me of the man that had put his heart and soul into creating the safe haven for me before Sydney had tainted it. I had tried to accomplish the same goal by surprising him with special dinners (little things every now and then like my Mum had to make me… And Sydney know that we were the most important people in her life) whereas Dean wanted to simply just make love in every room of the house so that we could literally kiss away each other's pain away.

I had never thought that it would be possible, but with Dean and whatever he was doing to my inner thoughts, I had managed to make this place… "Home," I whispered to myself out-loud forlornly.

I tried to force myself to work as quickly as physically possible to unpack Bobby's car and gather together some supplies from my stashes throughout the house. My worry was that the more time I spent at this house, in this yard, the more I would convince myself that I not only wanted to, but needed to stay here. I still wasn't feeling one hundred percent or completely like the old me, so the temptation to just crawl into the king sized bed in the room that Dean and I had shared was overwhelming.

Once yet another duffle bag was filled with guns, ammunition, salt and kerosene was filled, I loaded myself up again and lugged all off my bags out to the garage. I dropped the bags on the ground as gently as possible as I just stared at my GTO, not exactly sure how I was feeling about it right now. At this moment in time she actually looked more than perfect for me for some reason even though there was a thin layer of dust now covering her more usually glossy body.

"Hey Phantom… I've really missed you girl," I stated serenely to the car as I ran my hand over her hood, almost petting her like a beloved pet. "Oh… My… God… Now I'm starting to talk to my car like Dean," I grumbled to myself. "I really need to get going and fucking find him… Yeah, maybe that'll help me get over this insanity."

"Little GTO… You're really lookin' fine…" I heard Don's sing song voice coming from behind me as I was exchanging class books for the ones I'd need to finish my homework in my locker.

I closed my eyes, calmed my breathing like my Mum had taught me and forced myself not to react as violently as I wanted to before forcing a smile onto my face and turning to reply, "Nice one Don… Good to know I'm not the only one that appreciates the classics… But in all honesty my car isn't looking or sounding too fine right now."

He secured my locker for me then we fell into step together as we made our way out to the parking lot, where I was going to meet the school bus for what would hopefully be the last time ever, "Oh really? What happened to the car your Grandpa gave you?"

I shrugged honestly replying, "I really don't know. I spent like a week trying to figure out where the fuck this stupid rattling sound that's been plaguing her for a month came from before I just completely gave up and took her into Luke's to fix. He was still trying to find the problem when I called to check this morning before class."

"Oh… Well… I think he might have figured out the problem," Don answered as he held open the front door for me.

As I stepped out to the main stairs I gave Don a confused look but fell completely mute when I say my car parked out on the street, seemingly waiting for me to drive her home. I completely forgot that Don had been walking with me and hurried to the passenger's door, completely awestruck that my Mum hadn't tried to get a hold of me before now to let me know.

"Why didn't you call me Mum?" I asked as I slipped into the less familiar passenger's seat. "Did Luke fix the pro-?"

Dean snickered then answered, "Yeah, he found and fixed the problem, so she shouldn't stall on you anymore from here on out and… Well… I'm really hoping that it's more than obvious why your Mom didn't call you."

I swallowed hard a couple of times then nodded at him dumbly. Dean was now focused on the road while driving, so he missed my faltering and I was able to recover somewhat before replying, "Umm… Thanks for picking up Phantom for me… But, uh Dean? I know it's kinda been a while but this isn't the way to my house."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," he countered smugly. "But I'm not taking you home."

My heart skipped a beat and I hated that you could hear the fear in my voice when I asked, "W-where are you t-taking me?"

Dean stopped at a light then turned to look at me with a sad, apologetic look in his eye. "Hey… Look I… I really didn't mean to freak you out… I can take you home if you want me to."

I bit my lip feeling unbelievably guilty for making him feel like he had done something wrong. I mean, this was Dean Winchester sitting beside me. He had helped to patched up both of my parents up after fights had gone south. He was the only friend that I had that I could talk about hunting with and not feel like I was a totally abnormal freak. Plus he knew that I had been training for this job my whole life, so at the end of the day I could take him in a fight if I really did need to defend myself.

"No, sorry Dean. I just meant to ask where we are going if you aren't driving to my house?" I replied with a more even tone. Dean didn't seem to be convinced that I wasn't wigging out, so I reached over to try to squeeze his knee while he drove adding, "Really I'm sorry Dean. Please?"

He briefly glanced down and noticed that I had inadvertently grabbed his thigh instead of his knee. He cleared his throat then playfully added, "Addy I know that I'm hot, but we're never going to make it there alive if you can't keep your hands to yourself."

I looked down at my hand because I didn't understand what he meant and when I saw that palm was resting on his inner thigh, so I tried to move it as fast as I could. Dean caught my hand before I could completely retract it. While I mumbled an apology, he ran his thumb over the back of my hand where he held it on the seat between us.

He heard me groan uncomfortably then he took all of the mockery out of his tone as he explained, "Hey I was just trying to tease you so you don't need to apologize, okay?" After I whispered a quiet "Okay" he let go of my hand and returned his to the steering wheel. "Dad and I were heading out to a job when he got a call with a lead. Since he already promised this couple that we'd help… And they offered to pay a tidy sum so he told me to continue onto it… Then I saw that Vicky and Sydney were heading out too… So I thought that you might get bored at home by yourself."

"You want me to work a job with you?" I asked slightly stunned. "Just the two of us? As a team?"

He quirked an eyebrow then playfully replied, "Well you keep saying that I could learn a thing or two from you, so why not get a lesson from the master this weekend?"

Weekend? I thought in a bit of a panic. He seemed to pick on my apprehensions and quickly added, "Your mom threw a bag together for you… And the couple was going to give Dad and I separate rooms."

Before I answered, I tried to calm my racing heart because of my excitement from Dean wanting to spend time alone with me. "So… What's this job about?"

He explained that it was a fairly simple haunting, but the owners of the Inn were more than eager to have it taken care of as soon as possible. They offered money as an incentive because a couple of their customers had been hurt and they were booked to capacity this weekend. They had done as much research as they could but were still stumped about the identity of the spirit that was plaguing them or the method that could be used to vanquish it. We decided that we'd go straight there to look over the materials that the Inn owners had put together first before we would finalize our game plan.

The owners were kind enough to provide us with ha hearty dinner while we looked over everything after our arrival. We both instantly noticed that there were a lot of holes in their research, so we decided to try to fill them the next day after doing surveillance during the night. We slept in shifts and were only mildly disappointed when nothing remotely supernatural happened, but the next day proved to be much more successful. We divvied up the work and within a few hours we had all of the answers that we needed to get this job done.

We waited until nightfall to go to the cemetery to put this haunting to an end. On our way in, we noticed that there was security roaming the grounds, so we had to find the grave site without the aid of flashlights which resulted in me falling flat on my ass after tripping on random objects more than once. By the time we made it to our intended location, the guard had caught up to us so we hid behind a bush until we were convinced that he had carried on.

"Hey, you still doing okay?" He asked as he jiggled the key in the lock to the room we were now going to share after a couple arrived at their front desk unexpectedly.

I tried to straighten up, but I was worried that I would drop the cloth that was stemming the blood flow from the wound on my leg as I replied, "I'll live once I've gotten this taken care of… No worries Dean."

Dean helped me into the room then went straight to his bag to retrieve a first aid kit. He cut through the hole in my jeans then removed the excess cloth so that we could access my injury more easily. He started to work at patching up my wound, so I still his hands and emptied their contents onto the table.

"Dean, you had to do all of the hard, grave-digging work already after my spectacular show of clumsiness, why don't you take the first turn in the shower?" I offered as I started cleaning my wound.

"I don't mind helping you with your leg first."

I chuckled then countered, "Once this is fixed up I want nothing more than to have a nice long shower… Do you want to risk me not leaving you any hot water?"

Dean chuckled and shook his head, but he still stripped his shirt off and tossed it onto the bed without any other objections. By the time he had the shower running, I was pretty much finished dressing my wound. I struggled out of my damaged denim jean then looked up to find my bag, hoping that my Mum had packed at least a pair of pajama pants and completely froze in my place… There was only one bed.

Dean and I had talked a lot on the phone, but it was almost always exclusively about whatever job either of us was working. On top of that, other than the one time he kissed me by my car a few months prior to working this job, he hadn't really expressed much of an interest in me romantically. Then I started to panic wondering what Dean had told the owners about us because they had chosen to give us this room as a "Thank you." (On top of the stack of cash Dean now had tucked into a pocket of his jacket.)

"I made sure to leave you some hot water," Dean announced with a soft chuckle as he re-entered the bed room.

I had to force my eyes away from the bed then they grew even wider when they landed on Dean's naked torso. He had a few scratches on his arms from when he had tried to help me up, but I slipped once again after losing my footing, unintentionally digging my nails into his flesh and scoring his skin with my nails. If his smile faded in any way I didn't get a chance to see because I had already rushed towards the bathroom, clutching my duffle bag tightly to my chest without remembering to put on another pair of pants.

I showered and dressed faster than I had originally thought that I would, but I didn't leave the room right away. Instead I brushed my teeth no less than three times and almost gave myself a large bald spot from brushing it out so many times. Once I had nothing else to do to occupy my hands, I ended up just staring at my reflection in the mirror.

Come on Addy, it's just a bed to sleep in and you know that you're completely exhausted. I tried to reason with myself. And maybe he doesn't even like you like that anymore. My eyes shot down to my body and I cringed slightly at the oversized plaid boxers and shapeless men's t-shirt that I loved to wear to sleep. Well not like he'd wanna jump a tomboy who dress more like him than an actual girl anyway.

I re-emerged into the room at a painfully slow pace and found Dean setting up a makeshift bed on the floor. The covers and pillows on the bed were completely undisturbed, so I could only assume that he had asked for the Inn's owners to bring up some extra supplies and I instantly felt so guilty that I wanted to vomit.

Dean looked up from what he was doing then smiled warmly saying, "I told Molly that we'd be fine with sharing a room, but not… Uhh… You know… Sharing…"

Hearing Dean's uncertainty quelled any doubts that I might have had, so I was able to interrupt him with a more confident, "But this bed's much too big for one lonely person." Dean stared at me in disbelief, so I more seriously added, "Plus you did have to dig that grave all by yourself, so sleeping on the floor will probably royally fuck up your back."

"Oh this? Geez, Princess did you think that I was sleeping on the floor?" He joked sounding more like the Dean I had grown to… Gotten to know better.

"Dean… Seriously, we're both adults so sharing a bed really isn't that big of a deal," I replied more calmly than I was feeling right now.

"Both of us are adults? Last time I checked, I legally am in all Stated, but you… You're just barely past the age sixteen mark."

I rolled my eyes then sarcastically replied, "Yeah maybe you are LEGALLY, but we all know that on the scale of maturity I'm YOUR senior."

He then dropped the blanket and slipped in under the sheets on the bed. We both remained on opposite sides of the bed which ultimately felt more uncomfortable than sleeping on the floor would have been. Dean slid over slowly until he felt his fingertips brush over the skin of my arm. I unconsciously tried to mold my body closer to his, so Dean wrapped an arm around my waist, pulled me even closer to him and started to kiss my neck softly.

"Addy you were amazing on this job," He praised between kisses.

Dean's hand started to rub small circles on my stomach as his kisses turned into soft nips on all over my skin. I felt his fingers start to trail under the elastic waist band of my shorts, so I grabbed Dean's wrist to stop any more of his advances.

"Dean… Dean... I… I'm…" I tried to explain as I shuddered slightly.

He retracted his hand and smoothed down my shirt whispering, "It's okay."

I rolled over to look at him as I said nearly in tears, "I'm sorry, it's just…"

A finger on my lips ceased my speech. "Addy, really, it's okay. We can take it slow if that's what you want."

I looked up at him with guilty eyes as I explained unnecessarily, "It's just that I haven't… I mean I don't… Not with…"

He pulled my lips to his then replied, "Hey I get it. You don't have to explain."

He then helped me to cuddle into his side and I couldn't help but get in the last word. "So… Since you aren't getting lucky tonight, would driving my car back to Kidder be considered a good consolation prize?"

He chuckled then squeezed me in his arms replying, "This is pretty awesome too… But I don't mind being your chauffeur, Miss Daisy."

As he held me that night, I knew right then in there at that moment that I loved him and would be in love with him until the day I died.

I turned the key in the ignition thinking to myself, I HAVE to find him damn it! Please God! Please let Toby know where he is.

I got to the Connor's in record time and only took enough time to rip the keys out of the ignition before running full speed to their back door. I forced myself to calm down before knocking because I really didn't want to scare any of them by being overly enthusiastic when I knocked at the back door.

After rapping on the wood of the door a couple of times, I almost worried that no one was home because they had yet to answer. I looked around the yard and finally noticed that neither Maureen nor Bill's vehicles were in the driveway, so I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they weren't here. I was just about to turn and walk away when I finally heard the clock click and the door slip open.

I pivoted back with a bright smile on my face that instantaneously disappeared when I saw the shot gun expertly raised in Toby's hands as he demanded, "What the hell are you?"