It's funny how normal a day can seem, leading up to an occasion that is life changing. The day I found out about my boyfriend was terribly normal up to that point. Every sudden death in my family occurred on days that seemed otherwise uneventful. Even things that change your life for the better seem to come out of nowhere, on a day like any other.

Checking in to my hotel room, the drive, it had all been so… normal. Well, as normal as things get for someone who finds themselves in my line of work. That's how the universe tricks you into feeling okay before pulling the rug out from under you. The universe is a bitch that way.

As per my new usual routine, I set Ninja up with food and water, changed in to shorts and a tank top, and worked out a bit. I still wasn't exactly a specimen of peak physical performance, but I could hold my own. On a scale of "dead" to "killing all the things" I was a solid "Bruised and bloody, but totally living to tell the tale."

After enough sit ups, pushups, and lunges to break a sweat (The same amount would have made me wish I was dead, a few months ago), I booted up my lap top, so I was ready to dive in to research mode if the need arose, and took Ninja for a run. Ever since I cut down to only smoking here or there in life or death situations, my endurance improved greatly. I can run relatively fast for long enough not to die, in most cases.

Since most of hunting is just not dying, I guess I'm kind of a boss.

I fixed my ponytail so my bangs weren't hanging in my face, secured Ninja's leash and headed out of the hotel parking lot.

Once again, my run was suspiciously uneventful. My Pandora was shuffling through various Irish Folk and classic rocks bands, there was a state park w/ paths to run nearby, and I was super proud to have made it two miles before I had to stop. Ninja was even nice enough to crap right by a garbage can so I didn't have to carry it around w/ me until I found somewhere to dump it.

Seriously, it was so normal, I should have been instantly on edge.

Half way back to the hotel, the weather took a Florida on me. Clouds seemed to move in out of nowhere on the way back, and it sprinkled on me for about 30 seconds before cutting loose in a torrential down pour. My cool down jog turned in to a "rush back to the hotel before you drown because the storm drains are over flowing."

I was a drowned rat by the time I reached the hotel, and my modesty was barely preserved by my freezing, wet clothes. I tried to stay under the awnings on my way around the building, but Ninja had other ideas. He pulled, and his leash slipped out of my wet grasp. He barreled around the corner of the building, and I hurried after him, watching the ground so I could leap over the worst of the puddles. I was soaked, and it was a waste of effort, but we all know by now how great my decision making skills are in stressful situations. I resolved to work on that as I leapt a puddle, slamming in to a warm, solid body.

The wind was knocked out of me by the solid impact, and I felt slightly calloused fingers tighten around my arms to steady me. They were warm against my chilled flesh and the shock of it sent ripples through my muscles and up my back. The grip was firm, and my first instinct was to fight. I struggled to reach the small silver pocket knife hidden in a belt like harness at the small of my back. I looked up to track my foe's movement.

"Son of a bitch…" we both groaned out at the same time. My blue eyes had met a familiar pair of green ones. While Dean sounded frustrated, I sounded breathless. I could have kicked myself, which made me want to kick him.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, it occurred to me that I was being foolish as I stood there, mouth slightly agape as I processed the coincidence. I wasn't even on a job, for crying out loud!

My face flushed a bit, and I hoped Dean would chalk it up to the exertion of chasing Ninja, but part of me knew he was too smart for that. Then again, he couldn't exactly judge me. He was staring too.

"What are you doing here?" Dean's rumbled low in his chest, and I could practically feel it. Shivers coursed down my spine, and a feeling of warmth coursed through my middle. I found it to be infuriating.

"Getting rained on." My voice was still breathless. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears and rain dripped down my face. I couldn't brush it away. Dean still held my arms. I started to shiver. It was only partially due to the cold. I felt pathetic, reacting so poorly to the situation.

"Stop that." Dean's voice was dark, and I hated how thrilling it was.

Before I could clear my head enough to ask Dean what, exactly, he wanted me to stop, Ninja barked, breaking the spell. My upper arms were suddenly exposed again, and I hugged myself slightly to keep warm. 55 and rainy. Welcome to spring time in Florida.

Dean grabbed me by the elbow. This time, it was less the electric shock of kin on skin contact that caught me off guard, and more that Dean started leading me towards a hotel room with Ninja prancing around our feet. The "come with me right this instant, young lady" way he stalked towards a corner room at the back of the hotel made me want to fight his grasp. The firm, gentle grip of his rough hands made me want to melt. If either of us were thinking with our big heads, we would have gone our own ways right then. I was not on a job, and I had no reason to allow myself to be swept up in Winchester Drama.

Dean had trouble getting the room key to work. I suppose I could, or even should, have taken Ninja and left immediately, heading to my own room. I was just so drawn to the Winchesters, one in particular. I shook off these thoughts before the guilt of having bone jumping urges towards the man who probably beheaded my ex could take hold.

When the lock finally gave way, Ninja yipped and rushed in to the room, shaking water off all over everything. Seeing Dean annoyed made me a little happy. What made me less happy however, was the emptiness of the room.

"Uh… Where is Sam?" I don't know what I was having trouble not acting like a teenage girl, but my voice was shaky, and, damn it, breathless again.

"Sit." I couldn't tell why Dean was acting like I had made him mad, but that was all he said to me as we entered the room. I could tell that you wanted to pick your battles with a man like him, especially when he was already pissed to begin with.

I sat on the edge of one of the beds, shivering from the rain and the chill air in the room. Dean handed me a glass of water that he poured out of a flask in his bag. I looked at him questioningly.

"Drink."

"I-"

He cut me off. "Drink." Once again, his dark, firm voice made me quiver like an idiot school girl, and as he sat on a chair across from the bed, I drank. I could see the apprehension melt from his eyes as he watched me finish the water.

I was surprised when he exhaled in relief. "That was holy water, wasn't it?" I asked, handing him the tumbler. He set it next to his own and poured us each a generous portion of Wild Turkey from a bottle under the table. I threw it back like a champ. The burn loosened me up and I handed the tumbler back to Dean. Instead of taking it, he refilled it. I noticed that he did the same to his own glass.

"Can't be too careful," was his only response. He downed another glass. I took a pretty good gulp of my own, but opted not to finish it. One of us needed to have our head on straight.

"Yu thought I was possessed." It wasn't a question.

"It's a little too big a coincidence to run into you again, so far from home." His voice had lost a bit of its rough edge, but he was still gruff. I snorted.

"I haven't been home in months."

"You've been hunting." It wasn't a question.

I shrugged. I didn't need to explain myself to him. That wasn't the response he was looking for, of course. I could see his anger rising a bit towards the surface.

"So, you run off, hunting things that could easily have killed you. You put yourself at risk, and you don't even bother to check in and let me- US, know you are safe?" The barely controlled anger was even less controlled by the time he finished his mini-rant, and now, I am pissed.

"You are mad at me because I made my own choice about what I want to do with my life? That I didn't keep you up to date on the fact that I'm still alive? After YOU left, knowing full well what I intended to do. You are mad that a relative stranger didn't keep in touch? When you made it perfectly clear that I was on my own in this?" I gulped the last of the drink and stood, slamming the tumbler on the table. "Screw you." I started to head towards the door. Dean grabbed my arm above the wrist, stopping me. I tried to ignore the little thrill I felt when his hand closed around my arm. I was trying to be righteously indignant, and him touching me was not helping.

"I told you to call if you needed help." His voice was quiet, ominous.

I sighed, looking Dean in the eyes. "You aren't the only hunters in the world. You know that right? I didn't feel like I needed to bother you. I met people, worked with them, and learned a lot."

Dean still held my arm, but the grip was more gentle now. "Well… you do."

Once again, we lapsed in to silence. It seemed like SOMETHING was supposed to happen here, but neither of us knew what. After a moment, Dean dropped his hand, and I sat shakily on the bed. My teeth were chattering. I'd almost forgotten how cold I was. Dean stood, sliding his coat off. I bit the inside of my cheek. I hated that the first thing I noticed was how his muscles strained against his shirt. He sat next to me on the bed, and I almost closed my eyes, imagining… something that shouldn't happen. Dean slid the coat around my shoulders.

"You know I have dry clothes in my room, right?" Not that I didn't appreciate the gesture, of course. But the proximity of Dean mixed with the overwhelming sense of- well, him – that I felt with his coat around my shoulder's was distracting.

"You should go home."

That was out of left field. I shook my head. "To what, Dean? An empty house? A town where I have more graves to visit then friends? A quiet life with no purpose but to take my dog on walks, feed the cat, and go to a day job where ass holes yell at me all day? That page has turned, Dean."

"So you choose THIS life?"

"It's not a choice. Did YOU choose to do this? How could I ignore the fact that people are being hurt and killed, when I could help them? That's not a choice, Dean, it's a responsibility."

Dean chuckled a bit. "I think I may have said the same thing to Sam once or twice."

"Okay, so if it's not a choice for you, why would it be for me? How are our situations different?"

"Because this was all I've ever done!" Dean's voice was forceful, and I was startled a bit. I didn't think he would hurt me or anything, but man, that volume really caught me off guard.

"You never had a chance to do something else? No other options?" I found that hard to believe.

"I guess I did." He left it at that. He looked so pained, I didn't press him for more information. He deserved his secrets, just as I deserved mine. Besides, sometimes you just didn't want to burden someone else with your baggage.

"Sooo…. You guys are on a job?" I changed the subject. Needless to say, emotional crap made me uncomfortable any more.

Dean reached for the bottle and took a drink, then handed it to me. I took a pull, realizing that I was feeling those drinks as they started to accumulate. I promised myself that I wouldn't drink anymore as I handed the bottle back to Dean and he answered, "Nope. Vacation."

I laughed. "So is there some kind of monster hunter club med in Myakka, Florida?"

Shaking his head, Dean took another drink, once again handing the bottle to me. Out of habit, I broke my promise to myself, taking another deep pull off of the bottle. This time, I VOWED not to drink anymore while I was alone with Dean.

"Are you on a job?"

I shook my head in response. "I just finished a job down south. I came through because my aunt used to live near here. I just stopped for old time sakes."

Dean took another drink and handed me the bottle. I made another bad decision. I took it, and I drank from it, self preservation be damned.

a/n - sunshine1984 I'm glad there was some improvement and I'm SUPER glad to hear you like my style.

Thanks for the follows, and I promise things are REALLY going to be picking up here soon!