Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. I have diverted quite a bit from the original story lines here, though I guess that's the beauty of fan fics is that you can do that! So don't hate me for it please! and please do comment if you can, it always keeps me motivated and makes me really happy to know that people are enjoying what I'm doing (or equally gives me things to improve on too which is also awesome!).

Thanks for reading.

Chapter 12

The house Zoe had seen with the brothers early was barely even five minutes down the road from where the church was, and much like most houses around that area had been left entirely open. Zoe had cleared the bottom floor of the house whilst Daryl had taken the top, though neither of them seemed to find anything at all, not even a broken window, it was almost as if the entire house had just been left as it was. Zoe made sure the doors downstairs were secured before pulling the blinds closed and sheathing her blade. She could just make out Daryl's footsteps above her and for a brief moment, she let the butterflies in her stomach take over and let out a shaky breath before heading up the stairs to see where he was. She had barely even stepped onto the landing when she felt Daryl's hand clasp around her arm and pull her towards him, her body against his as he pressed his lips hungrily to hers.

After a moment she leaned back from him and smirked, "someone seems to have found a bit of confidence."

He gave her a half-hearted shrug, the uncertainty starting to slowly take over his body once more, though this time it didn't feel the same as it always had before. When Zoe pressed her lips to his it seemed to completely evaporate, his hands trailing across her shoulders easily and tentatively exploring new areas of her body as she tugged at the bottom of his shirt exposing the skin of his lower abdomen.

"Look what I found," Zoe whispered as her hand trailed down to play with the waist band of his jeans, her free hand holding a row of unopened condoms, a sultry smile on her lips.

Daryl returned her smile before stepping back from her, his hands resting on her shoulders as he whispered, "are you sure…"

He lost all train of thought as she pressed her lips against his throat, revelling in the gasp of surprise that escaped his lips. His arms snaked around her waist as he pressed against her, her teeth sinking into the flesh of his shoulder. A low growl formed in the back of his throat and before he could do anything she was already dragging him towards the nearest bedroom.

"I don't know about this Dean," Sam was leaning against the wall in the back of the church, his hands fidgeting with a piece of thread uneasily.

"It's just some silly little mark, like a tattoo or something Sammy, what could possibly be so bad about it?" His older brother shrugged and clicked the clip back into his gun.

"You don't know that Dean," Sam quipped angrily, "it could be anything! This thing could kill you!"

"It's better than the alternative," Dean sighed, he didn't have the energy to fight with his brother.

"You dying is better than me being in debt to Crowley?"

"Yes Sam," Dean glared up at his brother, "anything is better than you being Crowley's bitch and Zoe ending up dead."

Sam watched as his brother went back to cleaning and checking his guns. He knew Dean would take the deal regardless of what Sam said, if it meant that he saved his family, Dean would always take the deal. So instead of arguing the point Sam simply picked up one of the guns by his brothers side and started running through the checks, just like they had been taught.

Zoe was straddling Daryl's hips on the bed as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt planting soft kisses against every inch of newly exposed flesh. Just as her hands slid down to the waist band of his jeans he pulled her up crushing his lips hungrily against hers as her body pressed down onto his. She smiled as his hand fisted in her hair holding her head steady as his teeth grazed against her neck. Everything about him; from the way he moved to the way he breathed, sent waves of heat storming through Zoe's veins, like her own personal brand of drug. She whimpered against him as his hand slid painfully slowly down her chest and up underneath the thin material of her top. In one surprisingly steady movement he rolled her onto her back, his hands practically ripping her top up over her head as he slid his hand down between the material of her jeans and her underwear. She sucked in a breath and arched against him as his fingers grazed across her.

"Now who's lost their confidence?" he smirked, sinking his teeth into her neck as his fingers pressed against her a little harder.

After what felt like an age Sam had finally dropped off to sleep curled up in a ball at the back of the church. Michonne had taken watch out the front whilst the rest of the group tried their hardest to get some kind of rest before the following day. Dean however, couldn't manage to get his brain to stop, it was practically sparking with the information that Zoe had given them before, about the Mark of Cain and the rather unknown outcome of his own life now. After a while of tossing and turning he finally decided to get some fresh air, slipping out the back of the church quietly before anyone noticed. The cool Atlanta air instantly seemed to wake him up, the hairs on his arms standing on end as he stretched out, his spine cracking all the way from his neck to his coccyx.

"Ah Squirrel," Crowley's words had barely even reached his ears when Dean's blade was out and at the ready.

"Calm down," the demon rolled his eyes, "I'm here to see if you're willing to take a little trip with yours truly."

The Winchester's green eyes narrowed menacingly, "where exactly is it that you want to take me?"

Crowley's lips twitched into a slight smile, "I have an old friend I think you should meet, swap some war stories, maybe a Mark or two. What do you say?"

Dean felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, his hand white knuckling the knife it was wrapped around as he sucked in a deep breath.

"This old friend of yours," he rolled his shoulders a little, "how old are we talking."

The demon's shoulders rose and dropped in a half-hearted shrug, "one, two thousand years old. Depends on who you speak to really."

Dean swallowed hard and nodded, "and if I go in there, take that Mark, or whatever it is, you swear Sammy is off the hook and Zoe gets to live? She won't die with her brother?"

"You have my word. So long as you kill Abaddon, you get everything you want little Winchester," Crowley raised an eyebrow expectantly, "so Dean, do we have an agreement?"

Daryl arched up against Zoe as her teeth sank into his shoulder, his hands sliding down over the corded muscles in her back as he tried not to groan. He couldn't help the pure wave of pleasure that rocketed through his body as she kissed and nipped a slow trail down from his neck to his navel. Their tops and jeans were thrown across the room in a rush and both remained only in their underwear. Zoe stopped just above his boxers, her blue eyes catching in the moonlight as she looked up his body to his unnaturally dilated pupils. The devilish grin that spread across her lips was enough to make his entire body tingle with a raw desire. He barely had enough time to enjoy the sensation before he felt Zoe's mouth wet and hot sliding down over him. This time around he couldn't stop the growl that rumbled from his chest.

Dean wiped the small droplet of saliva from the corner of his mouth before fixing Crowley with a glare, "I thought it was only angels that could do the whole transportation bullshit."

Crowley was leaning against a mixed brick wall looking utterly uninterested as Dean straightened himself up, the urge to dry heave finally subsiding as he looked around at the farm house they found themselves at.

"Where in the Hell did you bring me?" Dean hissed.

"You're in Missouri," came a voice from just above them, "though I don't know for the life of me what for."

Dean stepped back to get a clear line of site onto the porch. A rather tall and remarkably muscular man stood on the steps staring down at the two of them.

"You Cain?" Dean spoke instantly, totally unaware of Crowley's cowering frame behind him.

"That would be me," the man spoke, his biceps bulging as he crossed his arms over his chest, "who's asking?"

"Dean Winchester, I hear you have some sort of Mark I'm supposed to be borrowing for a while," Dean tucked his hands into his pockets with a shrug.

The older man's heavy, silvery black eyebrow raised as a smirk played on his lips, "borrow?"

Crowley's hand clasped down on Dean's shoulder as he whispered into his ear, "you don't borrow the Mark you idiot."

Dean shrugged him off and with a roll of his eyes looked back up to the man on the stairs, "fine, relieve you of the burden, or whatever you want to say. I need the damn Mark to save my brother and my friend and bring this zombie infested shit hole back to some semblance of a good place. Are you gonna help me or not?"

Zoe felt her entire body contract underneath Daryl's frame, her fingers digging into his back as she let out a moan and arched off the bed against him. He could feel the pressure building inside of him and before he knew what had hit him it all but exploded inside of him, his body slamming against Zoe's on final time as a long groan escaped his lips, his body collapsing against hers as he sank his teeth into her shoulder, his arms wrapping around her slender frame as he slowly came down from his high. The two lay where they were for a while, Zoe's hands tracing patterns across Daryl's broad shoulders as his breathing slowly came back to normal before he slid off of her and removed the rubber letting it drop unceremoniously to the floor. Zoe watched his muscles sliding and shifting underneath his skin as he moved back to lay down on his stomach beside her. He watched her cautiously as she propped herself up onto one arm facing him, her other hand slowly coming to trace the lines of the scars lacing his back.

"What happened?" her voice was soft and careful.

Daryl's eyes seemed to darken at her question as he rolled onto his back, though instead of ignoring it or lying like he usually did he found himself wanting to be honest with her, and so he explained everything. The family life he had experienced, the relationship he had had with his older brother, even the way everything had changed after they had found Rick and the others. He told her about Merle cutting off his hand and the rather confusing devastation he had felt when he had seen him gnawing on a body in the middle of the farm. He told her everything and never once felt any apprehension or fear about saying it. Zoe listened, not saying anything, never judging or interrupting she just let him speak until he finally fell silent and simply stared at the ceiling for a while before looking over at her. Very carefully, she pressed her lips to his, her hand coming to rest across his chest as she slowly slipped her leg across his waist and straddled him, her tongue sliding across his as she pressed her hips back against him. Daryl's mouth fell open as she finally slid her body down over him stopping momentarily to revel in the feeling of being that close to another person before she started to move, sliding up and down against him, her eyes closing as the sensation pulsed through her very bones. This time was slower, more sensual and for both of them, for the first time in what felt like forever, they felt like they were actually in sync with another person, touching and feeling and moving together, wanting the other to feel as good as they did. They were wanting the other to enjoy every moment, wanting them to feel every movement, every touch, and every kiss until they finally got to that soul achingly blissful pleasure point. They wanting each other to feel amazing as opposed to rushing through with frantic movements to feed their own personal desire, though neither of them knew it yet, they were experiencing what so many others had felt before, they were experiencing the beginnings of being in love.

"Listen to me Dean Winchester," Crowley's voice was harsh inside of Dean's head. His body ached from head to toe, like he had been thrown underneath a bus and dragged out by his toenails.
"What you are feeling right now is not death, it's life. A new kind of life. Open your eyes Dean, see what I see, feel what I feel. Let's go take a howl at the moon and kill that little smarmy bitch," Crowley's words seemed to stir something deep within him, something utterly primal and wild. Like a caged animal being unchained and released into the world, free to kill, free to tear flesh from bone and seek the revenge it so badly deserved.

"Get up!"

Dean's eyes flew open, enormous orbs the colour of death, a pair of shining, bottomless black pits like Crowley had never seen before.