Over the next few weeks, Lexi decided to follow Sam's advice. She stopped trying to follow John and Dean, and stayed behind with Sam to do research. Once she put her focus on that, she found that her grief and anger subsided a little. She enjoyed her time at the library with Sam. Time spent alone together in the motel room usually found them talking about dreams they had of a normal life.

"Too bad we'll never have that," Lexi said. She and Sam sat stretched out on one of the beds, leaning back against the headboard.

"Why not? We can walk away from the life. We don't have to do this forever."

"I don't think I could live a normal life. Not knowing what I know."

"You've said before that you wanted to."

"Want to, sure. I've thought about it, but I don't know. I wonder if I could ever really be happy."

Sam sat up and turned to face her. "What if we walked away together?"

"What, go to college and get regular jobs? Be your neighbor, or roommate?"

"Or girlfriend," Sam said quietly.

Lexi's eyes found his as he leaned toward her. Their lips met in a soft kiss, and her hand was soon on his face, then running through his shaggy hair. When they broke the kiss, Lexi gave him a small smile, and he blushed.

"I've been wanting to do that for a while now," Sam said.

"I'm glad you did."

Lexi leaned in for another kiss, and Sam was more than happy to oblige. His hand sank into her hair and pulled her close. The rumble of the Impala outside pulled them apart.

"Maybe we should keep this between us," Sam said.

"I think you're right."

"Especially don't tell Dean... I'd never hear the end of it."

Lexi smiled as she moved to her own bed. She knew Sam was right. Dean was always messing with Sam about something. Typical big brother/little brother stuff. A girlfriend would be serious ammunition. Especially if the girlfriend were a girl Dean knew well.

John and Dean came through the door a moment later, covered in cuts and bruises. Lexi sat up.

"Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," John said.

Dean plopped down into the soft chair in the corner as John went into the bathroom. He touched a large gash by his eye, and Lexi went to him.

"Don't touch it," she said. "You'll infect it."

"Oh, so you're a nurse now?" Dean asked.

"I patched my dad up a lot. Hang on."

She grabbed a towel from the sink area outside of the bathroom and wet it. She sat on the arm of the chair and cleaned Dean's cut.

"Ow!"

"Don't be such a baby."

She held his head still before she continued. Dean stared into her eyes for a moment before looking past her. He caught Sam looking at her, and smiled. It was no surprise to Dean. He was attracted to her, why wouldn't Sam be? They were alone together so much, it made sense.

John came out of the bathroom looking a little better. He cleaned up his own cuts and scrapes. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to the chair, he studied Dean's face.

"How's that cut?" he asked.

"Not too bad," Lexi said. "He won't need stitches. A butterfly bandage should do the trick."

"How's the ankle?"

"It's fine," Dean said.

"Let me see," John said. Dean pulled up his right pant leg, and John sighed. "Do you think I'm an idiot, son?"

"No, sir."

"The other one."

Dean lifted up the other pant leg to reveal a severely bruised and swollen ankle. When Lexi saw, she cringed and sucked in a breath.

"It's not broken, dad. I can walk on it."

"You can limp on it. What if we have to get out in a hurry again. I can't risk it."

"You can't go back in there alone."

"I know." John seemed to hesitate for just a moment. "Sammy... let's go."

They all looked up in surprise, but no one questioned. Sam grabbed his bag and his shoes and followed John to the car. He gave Lexi a small smile before he closed the door behind him. She stared at the door until Dean's voice snapped her out of her trance.

"You gonna finish patching me up, or what?"

"Sorry. I'll get the bandages."

She went to the bag with the first aid kit and brought it back to Dean. She put it in his lap and removed the bandage.

"So," Dean said, "what have you and Sam been up to?"

"Research. It's kinda what we do... our contribution to the job."

"I mean when you're not researching."

"I don't know... we talk, watch tv. Sometimes we just sit quietly."

"That doesn't get awkward?"

"You would think, but... no." Lexi finished with Dean's cut and started picking up the first aid kit. "What happened to your ankle?"

"The spirit threw me into the wall. I tried to brace myself by putting my foot out... mistake."

Lexi stared back at the door. "Do you think they'll be okay? John rarely takes Sam along, especially if you're not with them."

"Sam will be fine. Dad will look after him. Trust me."

Dean limped his way over to the bed. Lexi collected a few things and turned to Dean.

"I'm gonna take a shower... knock if you need me for anything, okay?"

"Sure thing, nurse," Dean said with a smile.

Lexi shook her head and went into the bathroom. When she was done, John and Sam still weren't back, and it was getting late. Dean was watching television. His eyes followed Lexi as she walked past the bed and stopped in front of the dresser, brushing her hair. She stood there in her usual tank top and sweat pants, and Dean couldn't take his eyes off her. There was no need to without John there... except Sam. He thought about how Sam was looking at her earlier. If Sam liked this girl, it was likely more than a physical attraction. Somewhere in the back of Dean's mind, he had been waiting for Lexi to turn eighteen, John or no John, but if Sam liked her... that changed things. He watched as she pulled on her Texas Longhorn sweatshirt.

"Was that your dad's?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said with a sad smile. "How'd you know?"

Dean shrugged. "It looks a little old... and it's about two sizes too big for you."

"I know... but I like to wear it. It makes me feel closer to him, I guess."

Dean nodded. "It looks good on you."

Lexi blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm gonna go to sleep. Can you wake me up when they get back? I just wanna know they're okay."

"You got it."

Dean knew then that she liked Sam. She never asked to be awakened when he was out late with John, or the few times John went off alone. She was worried about Sam. He wondered how John would feel about Sam making a move on Lexi, since Dean had pretty much been forbidden to even think about it.

Lexi woke up to Sam's face. She sat up and looked around.

"Where are John and Dean?"

"Dean went for a beer. Dad said he had to stay off his ankle for a few days, so no cases. That means he can drink as much as he wants. Dad's in the shower."

Lexi threw her arms around him. "I was worried about you. Dean got all banged up, and you hardly ever go alone with your dad."

"I'm fine."

She pulled back and brushed a lock of hair away from his dirty face. They looked at each other before their lips crashed together. The sound of a throat being cleared broke them apart, and they looked up to see Dean. He had a grin on his face.

"Uh huh."

"I thought you went out," Sam said.

"My ankle hurts too much. I decided to just grab a soda from the machine outside. You two having fun?"

"Dean," Sam said as he stood, "I wanna talk to you outside."

"Okay."

Dean couldn't hide the grin on his face, and he winked at Lexi as he walked out, causing her cheeks to turn a bright red. Once they were outside, Sam stood right in front of Dean.

"Don't make a big deal out of this, okay? No jokes, no teasing-"

"I wouldn't dream of it, Sammy."

"Don't call me Sammy... and yes, you would."

"Okay, I would, but I won't. I like Lexi, and you probably have a lot in common, so... I'm happy for you."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Let's get back inside before dad comes out and asks what we're doing."

"Good idea."

Back inside, Sam sat next to Lexi. "Okay, so, Dean knows... but he promised to be cool about it."

Dean plopped down on the other bed as Sam leaned in and kissed Lexi.

"I won't be that cool," Dean said. "Let's keep the PDA to a minimum, or else dad will be the next one to walk in on you two."

"Maybe he's right," Lexi said. "It's not like we don't spend a lot of time alone anyway," she whispered.

When Sam smiled she told him goodnight and turned over to go back to sleep. Sam saw Dean grinning and threw a notebook at him.

"Shut up, jerk."