A/N - I'm back! I was too excited to post this chapter to wait. Okay that's a lie. I just needed this chapter out of the way for chapter three to really get going. Anyway, don't hate this chap too much! Happy reading!

Disclaimer: All rights to the CW and Kripke. I only own Nat and this plot.


Sam's bed was too soft. It was like laying in a cloud. Where was he? He couldn't be at the bunker, could he? No that didn't feel right. Why was it so bright in his room? Was that… sunlight? Then he remembered all of it. The phone call, the road trip, Dean's old flame.

Dean's old flame?

Right the picture. Dean was in love.

Dean was in LOVE?

Okay he was getting up.

Did he smell bacon? Now he was for sure getting up.

"Dean?" he called as he walked into the hall. Dean's room was empty.

"In the kitchen Sammy!" he heard from down stairs. As he got closer he heard laughter.

"Dean! Stop it! I'm gonna burn the pancakes!" he heard Natalia shriek. Sam walked into the kitchen to see it the table set for three and Dean laughing while working on the bacon.

"Awe come on Nat! They'll still be perfect like always. You worry too much" Dean shouted over the now apparent radio blasting Lynyrd Skynyrd.

"Mornin Sammy! Just in time for breakfast. Have a seat!" Dean said as he loaded the bacon onto a plate. Natalia placed a huge stack of pancakes on the table. Sam sat down staring in disbelief at how happy his brother seemed. Dean came and sat down next to Natalia, across from Sam.

"How'd you sleep? I hope the room was alright" Natalia asked looking at Sam. It took him a second to realize she was talking to him.

"The room was great. More comfortable than I'm used to actually." Sam said reaching for the coffee cup in front of him.

"Well I told you to get a different mattress, but you didn't listen to me" Dean said raising his eyebrow at Sam before taking a bite of his pancakes.

"So um Natalia"

"Please, Nat is fine!" She interrupted him.

"Nat…" Sam continued, "Why did you want us to come by?" Sam asked innocently. Dean glared at him, about to say something, but Nat cut him off.

"No Dean, it's fine. He has the right to ask. He doesn't even know who I am." She said.

"Which is not your fault!" She added quickly. "Sam, my aunt died. And before you say anything, I know what you do, and I know she didn't die in a natural way. She was a wiccan and has been saying for weeks that something big was happening. She wanted to ward the house, which she did. She didn't go out anymore. Something scared her. And nothing scared that woman. Nothing." Nat explained.

"Okay so something killed your aunt. Was it a ghost, demon, witch…?" Sam asked, taking another sip of coffee. If he noticed Dean holding Nat's hand he didn't say anything.

"I think it was an angel"

Cue the spit take

"What?!"

"Look, whatever was after her wasn't some ghost. The only person who had it out for her was John Winchester, and he is long dead. Besides, she said it was something more divine than spirit. An angel followed me to work a few weeks ago, and yes I'm sure. I asked him what was up. He said to 'watch my back and be ready to be thrown head first into the fight' whatever that means. Then my aunt gets stabbed in our garden? Can't be a coincidence" She stated standing up from her seat.

"Wow okay. For someone who just lost a family member you don't seem to broken up about it." Sam mentioned. Dean was about to punch him when Nat grabbed his arm.

"I'm sure that when this is all over, I'll have a mental breakdown. But right now I don't have time to cry for her. Besides, she would want me to figure this out. That's why I called Dean. I only know so much about all of this." She explained.

"How do you know about this anyway? And how would you know I knew about angels?" Dean asked.

"Wait our dad had it out for your aunt?" Sam asked, just realizing what she said.

"My aunt had sources, kept up with Bobby until he died. She wanted to make sure you were okay Dean. She kept a journal. Wrote it all down. I found it the day after she died, and Bobby had given her a number for one of your phones. And maybe you should take the John question Dean" she said looking from him to Sam.

"Yeah um…" Dean started clearing his throat. "I met Nat about two months after you left for college. I was working a case. Dad took off pretty much the same night you did. He texted me this case. I took it, got injured protecting her from a werewolf. She took me back to her aunt's house and stitched me up. I guess somewhere between the whisky and the beer I told her too much. Got attached, stopped working cases. Dad came looking for me. He wasn't happy, his favorite son was gone and his soldier was disobeying orders. Nat's aunt layed into him, she gave him hell. He accused her of putting me under a spell. We had a huge fight, he told me if I stayed, if I quit hunting, I was dishonoring mom. I told him that mom wouldn't have wanted us to be living the way we were. So he left. He'd text me cases every few weeks, if it was close I worked it. If not, I gave it to another hunter." Dean explained. Sam stared at him in disbelief.

"You quit hunting? For a girl? And after all the shit you gave me about college and Amelia you still knew that you did the same thing." Sam said with malice. Dean just looked from him to Nat, suddenly overwhelmed he bolted out the front door. Sam went to go after him.

"Sam, just give him space. I think everything just hit him at once" Nat said, calmly grabbing Sam's arm.

"What hit him? That he's a hypocrite?!" Sam yelled.

"Look, I can't speak for him about what he has gone through since he left 13 years ago. But I can tell you that him being here wasn't easy. We went through some really difficult shit and I don't think either of us ever recovered. He gave up, Sam. He-"

"Stop" Dean interrupted her. "You promised me. You promised to never tell a soul. You promised" Dean whispered from the door. He sounded so broken.

"Fine." Nat said walking toward the stairs. "But you need to tell him Dean. He deserves to know." She said finally before walking up the staircase. The brothers had some talking to do.

"Dean, I just don't get it. You met her while I was at Stanford and lived with her for two years? What aren't you telling me?"

"Sammy… I um… can't. I don't know how to explain this to you. For the first time since mom had died, I was just Dean. I wasn't Sam's big brother, I wasn't a hunter and I wasn't dad's soldier. She saw past all my crap and called me on it. It was nice. I… don't know what else to say. I'm sorry, for everything." Dean said somberly, looking away from Sam. "But lets go hunt an angel yeah?!" He said, replacing his mask of confidence.

Sam knew he wouldn't get anything from pushing Dean. But maybe Nat…


A/N - Okay filler chapters suck! Well the next one is going to better promise! R&R!
- Em