Sam smiled at Carmen as he took a seat across from her at one of the tables by the window at the restaurant.
"So, how are things at home? I'm surprised Dean let you go." He joked and was happy to see a grin appear on Carmen's face. For the past few weeks she had been all smiles and never felt better.
"Good, very very good." She replied with a mischievous glint in her eyes that made Sam uncomfortable. But unlike Dean, Carmen wouldn't go into details so he was safe.
"But today, I'm more than glad to be out of the house, Dean's stressing out about his projects. He's locked himself in his study and keeps swearing every ten minutes."
Sam couldn't help but chuckle. "Typical. He always has several projects going at once and then he complains about too much work."
"Exactly!" Carmen rolled her eyes and took a sip from her glass of water. "I'm used to it, believe me, but this time, he's blaming me."
"Why?"
"Well, I guess it is partly my fault because..." Carmen sighed and folded her hands in her lap. "I kinda ruined his meeting the other night. Hell, I'm not regretting it, but now he's a little pissed because the deadline's by the end of the week."
Carmen wanted to sound sorrowful and as hard as she tried to, she simply couldn't stop herself from grinning wickedly. Dean was pissed which meant lots of rough sex once he was done with his work. And she was looking forward to it.
A pleasant shiver ran down her spine in anticipation and she quickly reminded herself where she was and who was with her. She didn't want to make it awkward for poor Sammy. He had had to endure enough for the past decades.
Sam averted his eyes when he saw where Carmen's thoughts had wandered. He cleared his throat and luckily it seemed to work. She focused back on him.
"You seem much more relaxed since our talk on the phone." Carmen wanted to know whether everything worked out with Abby or not without mentioning it directly. Sam really admired how subtle she always managed to appear when it came to sensitive topics.
"Yeah, I guess things are progressing nicely."
Carmen noticed the more than satisfied look on his face which gave away his feelings. The way his eyes sparkled with holden back joy and the calmness that surrounded him showed that he felt completely at ease with his current situation. It alerted her.
She raised her eyebrows and leaned closer to him over the table. "Really? You've been naughty, Winchester?" Her voice was an hoarse whisper and he could hear the amusement in her tone.
"Well, we didn't really sleep with each other, but..." He trailed off, knowing Carmen would get what he had left unsaid.
"Nice, Sammy!" She let out a throaty laugh. She had a few ideas what might have happened between Sam and Abby. And she was happy that he seemed so content.
Sam smiled at her reaction and leaned back in his seat. "One step at a time right?"
"Right. I mean, it's not like she's going anywhere."
"Yeah." Suddenly Sam ran a nervous hand through his hair and turned all serious. "So, what do you think of her?"
Carmen looked confused at first, so he hurried to explain. "I know it wasn't planned that you get to see her so soon, but that doesn't matter anymore. You told me to forget about my gameplan." He chuckled lightly, but Carmen still didn't catch on.
"So since you've already met her I'd like to know what you think." He added and she felt all the oxygen leave the room. Not like she would have needed it to breathe, but Sam's words hit her hard.
She blinked a few times as it dawned on her. Sam was talking about his mate. She had met her without even knowing it. All the blood drained from Carmen's face and Sam feared she might pass out in front of him.
"Oh my! The girl at the reception was Abby?" She exclaimed harshly, but the humans at the restaurant weren't able to understand her.
She made sure that only Sam got her words. Sam had no clue why Carmen seemed to be so appalled. He just kept looking puzzled at her.
"Poor thing. Now I get it." She said quietly, shaking her head in utter dismay. A wave of sympathy and guilt swept through her. She really hoped that Abby was okay. God knows, what horrible thoughts were plaguing her mind at the moment.
Sam saw how upset Carmen was and felt different emotions battle inside of her. And it was because of Abby.
"What's the matter? What do you mean?" He questioned, his hands starting to get sweaty.
Carmen grabbed his hand on the table and squeezed it lightly. "Sammy, I bet she's hurt."
"What?" Sam exclaimed in fear. "What could've possibly happened to her here at the hotel? I would've noticed, I'm sure."
"Not physically. I meant she's hurt emotionally." Carmen stated more precisely, hoping he would get it. But Sam didn't react, trying to figure out what his brother's mate was telling him.
Carmen sighed annoyed and gave him a stern look. Men were so clueless. Sam needed a nice and hard kick in his firm ass. And yes, she had paid attention to certain areas of his body and Dean would kill her if he ever found out.
But she needed to concentrate right now, so Carmen tried to ban the image of Sam's rear from her mind. She had to help him, so she searched for the right words to get through to him. She decided to be direct and relentless, so he would realize what was going on.
"You have to go talk to your mate and explain that we're not sleeping together."
The look Sam shot her was priceless. It was so obvious what was on his mind. Sam thought Carmen was going insane, she must have lost her mind. She had had a few rough years and now they were taking their toll. Why would she assume something as crazy, otherwise?
"Carmen..." He started confused but she cut him off.
"Listen to me, Sammy!" She snapped and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, making him raise an eyebrow.
Carmen took a deep breath, trying to be patient. Sam was a good guy who would never hurt a woman on purpose. He had treated every woman he had gotten involved with in the past lovingly and with respect.
But he was still a man which meant sometimes he wasn't able to feel empathy with women and even though being a vampire he hadn't noticed what effect the situation at the reception had had on Abby.
"It looks like we're having a date here and since she doesn't know what's going on for real you can't really blame her for being jealous." Carmen tried to explain and when Sam's face turned pale she knew he had gotten the picture.
Sam was stunned. He couldn't believe that Abby thought something was going on between him and Carmen. She was his brother's mate and he had never ever felt attracted to her. He loved her like a sister and she was one of his best friends.
The fact that they were having lunch at the hotel right now was absolutely innocent. He didn't understand why Abby would read something into it. But he knew he could rely on Carmen and if she said that it looked really really bad, he had to take it seriously.
"I'll go talk to her."
She smiled encouragingly at him when he stood up. "Take your time, I'll wait."
Sam nodded at her thankfully and turned to leave, looking for his girl. She wasn't at the reception, so Sam wandered further through the hotel and found her in the huge kitchen.
She was pouring herself a cup of coffee and when he stepped to her she looked up, glaring at him.
"I'm just getting coffee. There's no guest in sight, so I thought I could leave the reception for five seconds." She blurted out, obviously very upset. "I'll get back to work now. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
Sam grabbed her arm when she tried to slip past him and turned her to look him in the eyes.
"I'm not here to scold you." He said softly and Abby looked up at him, seeing the warmth and kindness in his eyes. She relaxed a little and took a sip from her cup. Sam's grip on her loosened, but he kept his hand on her arm.
"I should've told you that I'm meeting Carmen for lunch." He started and Abby tensed up again.
"No it's okay. I get it, it's none of my business. But you told me that our..." She broke off and took a deep breath."... relationship is important to you."
"It is. I care about you alot." Sam quickly said and wanted to pull her closer but Abby took a step back.
"It's just...uh, after what happened between us..." She blushed and averted her gaze. "And then all of a sudden this gorgeous woman appears and I..."
"Carmen's just a friend. And I'm so sorry, I didn't realize how upset you were. I should've introduced her to you."
Abby listened to his explanation, feeling the anger and jealousy slowly subside. How was she supposed to know whether he was telling her the truth or not?
And then it hit her. She just had to trust him. If she wanted a relationship with that man she had to learn to trust him, as hard as it was. But even if she had known whether he was lying to her at the moment, she would have believed him anyway.
He had that effect on her, making her want to believe every word that left his lips. With a deep sigh that showed her defeat, she stepped closer. "Just a friend, huh? And you never had a thing with her?"
"No, never." Sam replied with a smile and wrapped his arms around. He needed to touch her, needed to be close to her. And luckily she didn't protest when he took her in his arms.
"I've known Carmen for a pretty long time and we've always been just friends, believe me." He watched her eyes darken with sadness and her voice was hoarse when she spoke up.
"I really want to. But I...I've been hurt before and kind of have a hard time trusting someone."
Sam leaned in and lightly pressed his lips to hers. "I'm not playing a game." He whispered against her mouth and Abby had to hold back her tears.
She nodded, trying to smile but it looked fake. "I guess I should get back to work. My boss'll get furious."
"No, he's a pretty cool guy." Sam answered and Abby let out a genuine laugh, making him smile. Sam's arms were still around her, holding her tight. And as much as she wanted to stay like that forvever, she knew she had to let go of him.
"But I was kind of hoping for a punishment, Mr Winchester." She added teasingly, needing to ease the tension between them. She laughed out loud when Sam's eyes widened in shock.
Not even giving Sam the chance for a reply she quickly left the kitchen, feeling a lot better.
When Sam walked back into the restaurant, still deeply shaken after his talk with Abby, he saw that Carmen was talking on the phone. When he reached the table she hung up and gave him a smile. "Sammy, I'm sorry but I have to go."
"Bad news?" He asked, noticing the serious expression on her face.
"No, not really. I just have to get back to work, we're having an unscheduled meeting."
"It's okay, we can have lunch some other time." Sam said and sat down with a heavy sigh.
Carmen took his hand in hers, making him look at her. "You okay? Did you talk to her?"
"Yeah. Women are complicated." He said and Carmen laughed. "And you haven't noticed before?"
"So many different feelings are involved, it's too damn scary. It's such an emotional roller coaster and my legs are shaking." He explained.
"Well, then you should sit still for a while and might as well enjoy the ride." Carmen said and got up.
"Bye Sammy." She said and since he looked so exhausted she leaned down and kissed him on the head. He smiled at her sadly and his puppy-dog look broke her heart.
She wished she could help Sam and Abby somehow, but they had to solve their problems themselves, just like Dean and her had made it through rough times.
She saw Abby when she passed the reception and decided spontaneously to talk to her. She didn't mean to interfere but Carmen felt the need to clarify a few things. And Abby looked like she might need a talk with a woman.
She smiled her sweetest smile as she approached the young woman. There was a certain aura of confusion mixed with insecurity around her, but Carmen could feel that she was a lot more calm than before.
"I wanted to say goodbye." She started softly and Abby interrupted her work to focus on her. She looked at Carmen with unashamed curiosity in her eyes, but all enmity was gone.
Carmen wanted to laugh but she fought the urge down. She liked Abby's reaction, in fact she thought she would have acted the same if the roles were reversed.
"You're leaving so soon?" Abby asked cautiously. She decided that it would be childish and rude if she didn't answer. After all, the woman was friendly.
"Yeah, something came up." Carmen said and placed her elbows on top of the counter. Keeping her smile, she continued.
"I just wanted to meet you officially, I hope you don't mind. I'm Carmen."
Abby looked at her for a whole minute. Something about that woman's appearance was quite similar to Sam's, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She had to admit that she was fascinated by her though.
"Abigail Holt." She said cautiously and watched how Carmen's smile grew wider. "Sam's one of my best friends."
"Yeah, he's told me the same about you." Abby said, sounding a little tetchy and Carmen raised an eyebrow.
"Sweetie, he's a good guy. If you ask me, one of the best and I love him like a brother."
Abby didn't even flinch at Carmen's words and her lack of reaction made her realize what she had to say to win Abby over. Obviously, Sam hadn't shared that little piece of information.
"And also..." She trailed off and straightened her skirt before she looked back at Abby.
"I'm with his brother. I bet he didn't bother to mention that, huh?" She added triumphantly and received her answer in form of Abby's baffled expression.
"Oh." Abby finally said, trying to wrap her head around the news. "You're his brother's girlfriend?"
"Oh yeah." Carmen replied, inwardly rolling her eyes at the term. She was much more than just some 'girlfriend' to Dean. She was born more than two hundred years ago and had witnessed a lot of changes, but for some odd reason she couldn't get used to those modern words. They were so empty and meaningless.
"Don't worry, Sam's all yours." She patted Abby's hand and turned to leave, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.
Dean let out a salvo of curse words and proceeded to hammer onto the keyboard, typing as fast as he could. He had been sitting behind the desk in his study at home for the past twenty-four hours.
And he was pissed. There were still another twenty-four hours of work ahead of him before he would be a free man again. On top of that, he hadn't had any sex in almost two days. He was going insane.
The glass doors to the balcony stood wide open, letting in a breeze of fresh air, but Dean didn't pay attention to the warm sunshine and birds singing outside.
He had already sensed the other aura before the shadow of a person was casted on the carpet.
"I've finally found you Dean Winchester." A velvety voice sounded through the room seconds later.
Dean didn't bother to look up from the computer screen, not willing to interrupt his work for the unexpected visitor.
He finshed the passage he was working on first and then leaned back in his seat with a sigh.
"Took you long enough." He commented with a smirk as he locked his eyes with the woman standing in front of him.
A/N: New chapter, yay! Hope you liked. So, Abby finally knows who Carmen is:) But who's the mysterious woman in Dean's study? Stay tuned, guys!
As always, thank you so much you nice people out there reading and liking this story:)
And special thanks to Subtlelife, cold kagome, Dean's Dirty Little Secret and Anacampana for reviewing the last chapter:)