AUTHOR'S NOTE:

All right, so this chapter is important…just a warning.

WARNINGS: Language, Controversial Topics, Dark Themes, Sex, Violence, Blood

ENJOY!

****

"So this hunt…what exactly is it?" Grace asked Dean, pushing her bangs out of her face.

Dean chuckled and shrugged. "It's a couple of killings and Bobby thinks something is up, so we decided to team up with him."

"Oh, so basically the three of you came up with a hunt to follow and then left me in the dark?" Grace asked him, Dean glancing at her and catching the slight smile, so he knew she wasn't upset. "Going back to college was just as much my plan as it was Dad's…he's trying to protect me."

"Can you blame him?" Dean asked her.

Grace shook her head. "No…I actually kind of like that he watches over me as much as he does…I know he trusts me."

Dean smiled as he parked the car, and then he and Grace got out, Grace heading to the door and then stopping. She bit her lip momentarily and then turned to Dean, both of them trying to figure out what it was they wanted to say and how they wanted to say it. He watched as she just shook her head and shrugged it off, laughing and going into the house, into the room Bobby spent most of his time in—with his books.

Bobby thought that he was the most useful when he was finding out information on demons. He couldn't fight, and besides making sure that Grace was all right, Bobby felt like he was useless, and he didn't know what to do with himself. Grace kissed his cheek and then sat on his lap, pulling a paper out of her book bag and showing her father with a grin on her face.

"I aced my math test three days ago." Grace informed him, smiling at the pride on Bobby's face. "Once this class is over, I'm totally never taking math again."

Bobby kissed her forehead. "I'm proud, Gracie."

"Me too, so…what is this hunt, Dad?" Grace asked him.

"Sam and I have mapped out where the demon has been attacking, and we figured out where the next one will happen." Bobby explained to her. "Now if you want to help Sam and Dean out…you can go with them."

Grace nodded and hugged her father, kissing his cheek. "I want to help, but I promise I'll be more careful than I was last time."

"Good." Bobby told her, stroking her hair softly as she got off his lap. "So here are the coordinates and I don't want anyone coming home bleeding or maimed."

Grace nodded and told him she wanted to get ready first, so Bobby let her head off to her room, catching the smile between Grace and Dean. It was a different smile than the ones that they had shared in the past, and Bobby swallowed because he didn't know if he wanted to bring it up or not. He had just caught looks between them, it didn't necessarily mean anything…and he knew he shouldn't get worked up over it—if they wanted to be together and they treated each other well, then Bobby had nothing to worry about.

"So was she surprised?" Sam asked Dean as Dean turned to them after watching Grace walk away.

Dean composed himself and nodded. "Yeah—she even convinced me to get some coffee."

"That girl likes her coffee." Bobby informed Dean with a smile. "What exactly is going on between you two, Boy?"

"Nothing." Dean said with a shrug.

Dean didn't even feel like he was lying—somehow they'd gone from what seemed like a meaningful kiss, to talking about a hunt. He and Grace hadn't discussed what it was that was possibly between them, and so Dean didn't know what to say to Bobby. In fact, Dean wasn't even sure if he'd be able to talk to Bobby about dating his daughter if things between him and Grace got deeper…if their relationship became more physical.

"My phone is on vibrate and I'm ready now." Grace said as she bounded into the room, pulling her hair back into a ponytail and blowing her bangs out of her face. "Are we going, or are we going to sit around talking about our feelings or something?"

Bobby laughed and beamed. "I'm glad to see that when other people are around, I've rubbed off on you—how come you're so forth coming with them in the room, but you're never this cheeky with just me?"

"Are we going to go?" Grace asked quickly, her cheeks flushing.

"Yeah, we're going." Dean told her, pulling out his keys and heading for the door.

Grace kissed her father's cheek and decided then and there to tone it down a bit because she knew she was overdoing it. It was just that she felt like she needed to be more assertive, and that if she was more confident, Sam and Dean would maybe someday ask her to hunt with them…maybe? As much as she loved being with her father, Grace was restless…that and she wanted to meet the Thea problem head on.

**

Grace smiled a little in the backseat of the Impala as she thought about coffee that afternoon, and then focused on the hunt when she realized she was distracting herself, heading to the basement they were led to right off the bat after Dean parked. No one had been in the house for months, but there was definitely an altar, and Grace was starting to freak out a little bit—she recognized the symbols. She understood what was going on here, and at the same time she didn't…she was just…this wasn't good.

"I know this…" Grace said softly, lowering her gun and swallowing.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "You recognize this?"

"It's little Grace all grown up." A female voice sounded and Sam, Dean and Grace turned to her.

There was a redhead in front of them that was being possessed by a demon and Grace swallowed. This demon knew her, and Grace was trying to pinpoint exactly where she knew this demon from…where she knew these symbols from. Dean and Sam both raised their guns at the demon as she smiled, his eyes going black and Grace closing her eyes.

If the demon made a sudden movement, then the Colt-like bullets in their guns would protect them, but Grace needed to think. There was a connection here and Grace knew that if she could just remember then they wouldn't need to resort to that kind of violence. Instead, they could simply exorcise the demon, and save the girl that the demon was possessing like a good hunter should.

"Its been years, Grace," The demon continued, looking her up and down, "you were so much younger back then…tears in your eyes…"

Grace's eyes shot open and suddenly it all came flooding black to her and Grace found the tears coming back. They were stinging her eyes as she looked at the demon, in a different suit but definitely the same demon. How did she get out of Hell?! Why was it that she was alive, but Grace's mother wasn't?!

"Grace?" Jeremy asked softly.

Grace struggled in her sleep and her whole body moved violently, Jeremy crawling onto her bed and pushing on her shoulder a little. All she could see was her father crying as he killed her mother…her father holding her back and not letting her go to her mother's rescue. There wasn't anything she could do—she couldn't save her…why did that have to happen? Why was it Grace didn't deserve to have a mother?

"Grace?" Jeremy asked again, shaking his cousin a little harder.

Ever since Bobby had dropped her off, Grace had been having nightmares about the demon…about what she had witnessed. The demon had taunted Bobby—found it sport—and Bobby didn't understand then that he had a choice and it had all just happened. It was the driving point to hurl the man into hunting, and it was the only thing that Grace found herself able to think about.

Carrie wanted her to go and see a psychiatrist, but at the same time she understood and she didn't want Bobby in trouble. She knew that eventually Bobby was going to have to become a hunter because Thea had told her that it had to happen that way, but this wasn't how it was supposed to happen. Now Grace was scared, and if everything wasn't done perfectly, she would never live up to her part of her destiny.

"Mommy!" Grace cried out, bolting up in bed.

She looked around frantically and then her eyes fell on Jeremy, all of the sadness flooding her senses. Grace missed her father. She missed his embrace, his smell, his beard tickling her when he kissed her cheek—Grace wanted him back but she couldn't look at him. Why did her mother have to die? What was the black eyed woman? Why couldn't Bobby have found a way around murder?

"Grace, are you okay?" Jeremy asked her, scared for her.

Grace shook her head. "I want my Mommy."

"You can share my Mommy." Jeremy offered, knowing that it wasn't the same.

"Jer, I just want my Mommy." Grace told him crying. "I want her back."

"What are you doing here?" Grace asked her as strongly as she could. "Why are you here?"

The demon laughed. "Isn't it obvious, Grace? I'm here to do my fair share of havoc-wreaking. It's the apocalypse."

"You're done wreaking havoc." Grace said as some tears spilled down her cheeks, raising her gun at the demon. "Fuck you."

"Grace, calm down." Sam said, reaching over and setting his hand on her gun, ready to push it down. "What's going on here?"

Grace pulled away from Sam. "She killed my mother!"

"Your father killed your mother." The demon taunted.

Sam and Dean both scooted closer to Grace as the gun clicked and Dean started shaking his head, the demon just laughing. There was no way that Sam and Dean were going to let Grace just kill the demon in cold blood, and Grace was starting to get pissed that the demon still existed. Why was she standing there? Why was she taunting Grace like this? What was the purpose? What was going on?

"Why did you do it?" Grace asked the demon, trying to dodge Sam and Dean.

The demon held up her hand and Sam and Dean flew up against the far wall. "Boys, it's time for the girls to have a little talk."

"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" Grace yelled, her finger pressing on the trigger but not pulling it completely yet.

"Honestly?" The demon asked her and then she shrugged. "It was fun."

Grace couldn't even describe how much pain she was in on the inside—her mother had died because a demon was bored. She had to come into the room and see her father murder her mother because a demon was bored. Her mother's face twisted in pain, her father's broken expression, the unexplainable anger and fear in Grace's stomach—all of it was simply because a demon thought it would be a good time.

She had to grow up without her Mom—she had to carry around the memory of her mother bleeding out because her father was protecting her. Grace spent years hating her father: hating him for killing her mother, hating him for leaving her…hating him for everything. In the back of her mind she had always thought that there was some reason…that her mother was possessed because of some plan…but that didn't seem to be the case here…and Grace was angry.

"Watching people in pain is fun for you?" Grace asked the demon angrily.

Dean shook his head, struggling against the demon's powers and failing. "Grace, don't listen to her—don't cave, Grace. You're stronger than this."

"I'm not." Grace said sadly, shaking her head.

"No…you're not." The demon replied. "He picked you, Grace…and sooner or later you're going to show everyone, exactly why."

Grace knew that the demon was referring to Lucifer, and she knew that her next choice was just proving the demon's point but Grace was in pain. All she could think about was her mother's last words to her, "You'll always find your way, Gracie"…but Grace had never been able to feel like she fulfilled that. Now she was almost spitting on her mother's memory, but when the demon laughed again Grace couldn't control herself.

"I hate you." Grace said, and she pulled the trigger as Sam and Dean yelled at her not too, the bullet going into the demon's head…Grace effectively killing the demon and the body the demon had been inhabiting.

**

Bobby hadn't really said anything when the boys came back with Grace and she shut herself into her room. As soon as the boys explained that the demon had been the same one that had possessed his wife, Bobby had simply nodded. Sam had explained everything because Dean was having trouble coping with what happened and he knew he didn't have any right to be upset.

Even Bobby didn't seem to care so much that the demon was dead…even though he was remorseful that the redhead being possessed had been killed too. He understood that Grace was in a lot of physical and emotional pain, having just confronted the reason that her mother was dead and not having any closure. She was going to have to cope with killing an innocent girl in cold blood, and Bobby didn't know how she was going to come out of this.

"Is there something we can do for you, Bobby?" Sam asked him.

Dean nodded at him. "Sam and I are here for you and Grace."

Bobby just nodded at them and wheeled towards his room, Sam and Dean sighing loudly and feeling helpless. This was something that Bobby and Grace had to deal with, and neither Sam nor Dean had any idea how to try and help them to cope. Dean ran his hand down his face and he looked at Sam, shaking his head and then taking a deep breath because it was as good a time as any.

"You could have snapped back there…and you didn't." Dean told him.

Sam nodded slowly. "That's what you're worried about? Me snapping?"

"You could have had some blood and killed the demon…saving the girl." Dean explained and then he shook his head. "Sam, I'm still weary about that part of you…but you're my brother…and I have your back."

"Well…you need to have Grace's back." Sam told him and laughed a little when Dean gave him a look. "You two have a connection and you both care about each other and she's distressed right now. She needs someone, and Bobby isn't in the mood to comfort her and though I consider her my friend, you're closer to her."

Dean shook his head slowly. "I don't think I can just go in there and not get upset. She made a rash decision and cost a girl her life."

"I did it with Casey." Sam reminded him and then he shrugged a little and shook his head. "She had to watch her mother get murdered because of demon sport, Dean…we can't judge her for this."

Dean knew that Sam was right, and yet he didn't understand why he was so upset inside about all of this. He didn't get why he cared so much about the choices that Grace made, and he didn't understand why he felt the need to start pushing her away. Then it clicked as he reached out and touched the doorknob to her room that he was attached to her—that he cared—that that meant that the closer he got to her, the more danger he was putting her in, and he knew he couldn't handle it if she died on him some day.

"Sammy…" Dean said softly.

Sam nodded and then shrugged his shoulders at the pain in Dean's voice. "Don't run from it, Dean. Just face it."

"This is a bad decision." Dean breathed out and though he knew Sam heard it, he didn't really care.

Sam pulled out his phone to call Miranda, and Dean stepped into Grace's dark room, closing the door behind him and running his hand down his face. Grace looked over at the door and knew it was Dean, sniffling a little and immediately pressing her body into his as he laid down next to her on the bed and pulled her back close to him. She bit her lip so she couldn't sob at all, and Dean stroked her hair softly, kissing her head and then running his thumb along her wet cheek to try and brush off some of the tears.

He never really thought of himself as the comforting type, but it came easily to him right then because he wanted her safe…wanted her happy. Dean held Grace tightly and nodded as she turned over in his arms and buried her face in his chest. She knew he couldn't understand what she was going through, but at the same time she knew that Dean Winchester of all people understood loss…understood pain…she just felt like everything had been so wonderful and now…now everything was broken.

"The worst part is I don't feel bad about it." Grace said her voice breaking as her lip trembled. "I don't feel bad about killing the demon at all…but I should…I killed some helpless girl in the process just because I was in pain."

Dean held her a little tighter. "Just sleep, Grace…I'll still be here in the morning."

Note: The next chapter is kind of…emotional, I guess. There is a lot of 'caring and sharing' but not really in the way that you might be expecting. Expect lots of talking and bonding and budding relationships, I guess. Feedback is always appreciated!