CHAPTER SIX

Dean couldn't speak. His throat was tight with emotion, fear, disbelief, shock. She was gone. Pushing himself to his feet, he took in the horrific sight before him. The eight angels were lying on the ground, the blackened outlines of their wings crisscrossing the mall; grotesque artwork marring the cheap flooring. Casey wasn't there. Not on the ground. Not in the room. He thought about the explosion. The bright white light. Hand against the wall, Dean almost couldn't keep himself upright. She'd used her power. All of her power. Against eight angels.

And it had killed her.

Hands to his head, tears burned his eyes as he silently called for her. Prayed he was wrong. Hoped against hope that she was alive. But she did not reappear. She did not respond to his pleas. The room was silent. And it nearly killed him. But then his eyes caught sight of Bennett and his heart skipped a beat. Beginning to move toward her, he remembered Sam crashing through a window and he glanced over at the storefront.

"Sam?" He called out even as he stumbled across the room, dodging dead angels as he hurried to Bennett's side.

Kneeling down, Dean shook Bennett's shoulder in an attempt to wake her. Dean called her name, even as he took another quick glance at the store. This time he saw Sam's head poke above an upturned display case.

"Dean?" Sam called out.

"Yeah, you alright?"

"Great." Sam said, and he was moving over the debris of the storefront without looking like he was injured. "What the hell happened?

Dean looked up, hoping against hope to see Casey standing there. But she was gone and he was losing everything again. Everything in hopeless, broken pieces shattered around him like the glass of the storefront Sam was climbing out of. Dean closed his eyes and lowered his heavy head.

"Dean."

His head snapped up so quick he saw stars. Dean stared across the room. His voice gritty and raw, he met Sam's eyes as his brother came closer, kneeling next to Bennett. Sam's expression of worry as he looked at Bennett changed to a deeper concern when he saw what must have been absolute despair in Dean's eyes.

Sam was checking Bennett's pulse, leaving a hand on her shoulder as he looked back at Dean and asked again, "What happened?"

"Casey...she...I don't…" Dean tripped over the words, his heart broken. "She just...killed them."

Before Sam could say anything else, Cas appeared out of nowhere. The angel looked terrible, bloody and pale, but he stumbled across the room without hesitation. Dean and Sam looked up at him in surprise and Dean was about to ask him if he could find Casey when Bennett came awake swearing like a sailor. Dean almost laughed at the shocked expression on Sam's face.

But then Cas collapsed to the floor and it wasn't so amusing any more. Dean leaned over him, feeling a pulse, but found he was unable to rouse the angel. He looked up and found Bennett extricating herself from Sam's embrace and looking around desperately. She turned to Dean and tears welled in her eyes as she asked the question Dean had been dreading.

"Dean? Where's Casey?"

Dean stared at her. He couldn't take it. Couldn't say it. Shaking his head he said, "We need to get Cas out of here. Right now, before anyone starts investigating what's been happening at this mall."

"Dean…" Sam started.

"Not now." Dean cut him off sharply. "Help me get him up."

Sam wordlessly reached down and helped pull Cas to his feet. The angel remained unconscious as they dragged him back toward the exit, Bennett trailing behind them, trying her hardest to cover the sniffles as she cried. Dean gritted his teeth and tried to ignore her. Other than the shuffling of their feet and Bennett's tears, there was no other sound as they walked through the mall. It seemed like three eternities before they reached the Impala. Cas was still unconscious as they settled him in the back seat with his head on Bennett's lap. Dean slammed the front door with more force than was strictly necessary.

He felt Sam's gaze on him as he started the car. For a moment, he didn't put the car in drive, just sat and listened to the comforting thrum of the engine. He didn't know what to do next. There was nothing to do next because he'd lost Casey. But then he heard Bennett whisper Cas' name and he knew this wasn't just about him. So he put the Impala in gear and headed back into town to find the nearest motel where they could put whatever pieces they had left back together.

-field, middle of nowhere

Casey opened her eyes and immediately regretted it. The light make her head hurt so bad that she squeezed her eyes shut again. She just wanted to sleep. Curling up into a tight ball on what felt like damp grass, she tried to close her mind as she had her eyes. No matter how hard she tried, though, she couldn't get the nagging feeling out of her head that something bad had just happened. Sitting up slowly, she kept her head down because if she lifted it, she was sure it was going to fall off and roll away. And she didn't have anywhere near enough energy to even consider chasing it. She could feel something sticky on her face and when she touched her cheek, her hand came away red and sticky. Blood. And a lot of it.

The memory of what happened came flooding back. The mall. The angels. The angels taking her father, hurting the others. Miserably, her thoughts jumbled, making her queasy. What is going on with my powers? I killed the Plague for heaven's sake! Why did this happen? Casey kept going over the details of the battle in her mind as she forced her eyes open again.

She was in a field. A field in the middle of nowhere. A cold, wet field in the middle of nowhere. Instinctively she pulled out her phone to call Dean and saw that not only was it dead, the screen was completely shattered. Awesome. I have no idea where I am or where Dean is. And I have no idea how I ended up here. She closed her eyes and tried to focus her senses on Dean. If she could find him, she could zap over to him. But there was nothing. Just dark, cold, nothing. She couldn't use her powers. She couldn't get back to Dean. What is wrong with me?

Casey felt the sting of tears behind her eyes when she considered her situation. She felt the panic welling up in her chest as her breath rushed in and out of her lungs in panicked gasps. Casey tried to catch her breath but couldn't find enough air. She began to feel light headed and could still feel power draining out of her. Her heart ached to get back to him but couldn't figure out how.

The tears that had been threatening her finally fell. Casey allowed herself to let it all go. She sobbed for the first time since Dean had broken up with her. She allowed herself to feel the pain. To feel the hopelessness and fear that had surfaced when she watched the angels prepare to kill her family at the mall. She felt everything and nothing.

Casey cried until her head was pounding in time with her heart. Her eyes were puffy and she was sure she looked like the victim in a horror flick. But she had to do something about her predicament. You are a freaking Nephilim. Get your act together, woman! She chided herself and found a small smile playing on her lips.

She sounded like her mother.

Pulling herself up off the cold ground, she again tried to use her abilities. Again she reached out to find Dean, but again she felt nothing. Instead, she focused on her immediate surroundings and heard the bubbling of a creek. Well it's a start, she thought. Casey pushed herself wearily to her feet and started off in the direction of the creek to clean herself up. Thinking ahead, she collected some firewood along the way. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she was Dr. Casey Economou and she was not going to be a victim of her situation.

She would find her way back to Dean, no matter what.

Motel

Sam watched as his brother helped him ease Cas onto the bed. Dean's expression was blank. Not a thoughtful blank. Not a half-asleep blank. But a blank that made him look like he was completely gone. Empty. Devoid of life; of hope. And Sam supposed he was. Didn't matter how many years it had been, he still remembered how lost he had been for so long after Jessica's death. Empty. Devoid of life; of hope. Just like Dean now.

He began a quick assessment of Cas and looked up as Dean rushed back out of the room without a word. Sam sighed then glanced back at the angel. Cas was breathing and, despite the blood on his face, didn't appear to have any obvious wounds. He was still out cold, though, and that wasn't exactly a good sign. For now, there wasn't much he could do for him. Time to worry about the rest of the team. Sam looked for Bennett.

She was sitting in a corner, knees drawn up and her face buried against her arms. No one had spoken the entire trip to the motel. He'd run into the office to get a couple rooms and then they'd brought Cas inside. Bennett had followed, eyes red and puffy from crying silent tears all the way from the mall. He wasn't surprised that she was so upset. Casey had been a friend that Bennett had desperately needed and her loss was a blow to all of them; more devastating than he had even begun to imagine. Dean's connection and deep loss he understood, but Bennett, and himself? They had only known Casey for about a week or two and even he was fighting back tears at her loss. She had become like a sister to him in the short time he'd known her. He still didn't know what had happened, Dean hadn't spoken at all, but it had been bad. And it saved their lives.

Sam sighed heavily; he knew the fallout from this was going to be bad. Really bad. Giving Dean his space for the moment, he turned to Bennett and knelt in front of her. Rubbing her arms, he managed to get her to lift her head. She looked up at him, hair plastered to her tear stained face.

"Hey. You ok?" He asked softly, brushing her hair away from her eyes.

Bennett shook her head. She whispered, "Casey..."

He nodded, "I know."

"Sam, is her dad… Is he ok?"

"I'm not sure. He's breathing and I don't see any wounds. I think he fought hard to get away from those angels, though."

"Why were they...why did they do it?"

Sam squeezed her hand and said, "I don't know."

They both looked up at the sound of an ominous thud coming from outside the room. Bennett said, "Dean's not ok."

"No. He's not." Sam agreed. He watched as Bennett pushed herself to her feet and wiped her face with her sleeve. She started toward the door and he asked, "What are you…"

"He shouldn't be alone, Sam." She said simply and walked outside.

Sam took a deep breath and followed her, not entirely sure that Dean would be receptive to company. Standing in the doorway, he saw his brother leaning against the hood of the Impala, head lowered, his eyes bright with unshed tears. He didn't look up as Bennett walked toward him. Sam was not exactly unaware of Dean's preferred methods of grieving. Denial and liquor in equal doses. He knew better than to go near Dean's feelings, but he found himself unable to stop Bennett from taking her chances. Maybe she could help in ways he never had been able to.

Bennett went straight to Dean and touched his arm. He spun around, clearly planning to lash out, but before he could, she wrapped her arms around him and started to cry again. Dean remained frozen for a moment, then, as if something had broken deep within him, he wrapped his arms around her and lowered his head to her shoulder. Sam felt a sad smile play on his lips. He didn't know what to say or what to do so he just stayed where he was and watched them grieve.

After a minute, Dean pulled away from Bennett and used his thumbs to wipe away some of the tears on her face. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then turned away. He got into the car and tore out of the motel parking lot. Sam didn't have to guess where he was going. Nearest liquor store or bar. Or both. He wrapped his arms around Bennett as she came back into the room. He couldn't blame Dean.

But he could worry about him.

-by a creek, middle of nowhere

Casey held her hands close to the fire. She had managed to wash the blood off her face and most of her clothes. She was freezing and wet and lost and alone. And, truth be told, just a little bit afraid. When she'd awakened, she'd felt something she hadn't felt since her father had restored her memories of who, what, she was. She'd felt completely human. No powers, nothing. Just human. It scared her more than she had expected.

She pulled her hands inside of the sleeves of her coat and turned her thoughts inward. She had been feeling her powers returning for the last few hours. It would be a while until she was at full power but she hoped, now that her emotions were in control, she would have enough juice to get back to Dean.

Focusing her thoughts on Dean, she could feel the warmth and safety of his arms and hear his voice telling her he loved her. Casey held onto those feelings and pushed harder. Instead of the cold nothing she had sensed before, this time she saw a spark of light. The light was coming from the southern part of Wisconsin, right where it should have been coming from. Now that Casey had a location, she put the fire out and closed her eyes.

When Casey opened her eyes she was standing in the middle of a motel room. She turned to look around and was swept up off her feet in a bone crushing hug. Sam, she thought in relief. She had made it back. Casey couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips.

"I'm alright Gigantor, you can put me down now."

Sam set her down but kept his hand on her shoulder as Bennett came running into her arms. "Casey! I was so… I thought you were..." Bennett tried to say but couldn't get the words out, "How are you…"

"I'm ok, Bennett," Casey smiled as she hugged her. "I don't know exactly what happened. But fighting off the angels blew me away. Literally. I woke up a few hours ago in field. A wet, cold field. Phone was dead and broken, and I was out of juice. I guess I needed a few hours to recharge."

"A few hours?" Sam said, his hand again reaching for her arm. He looked exhausted and his troubled eyes told the story of what the wait had been like on their side. "Casey, it's been six hours since you disappeared. We all thought you were dead."

"Six? It didn't feel that long when I was there," Casey replied, looking over Sam's shoulder to see her father at the other end of the room. He looked almost as bad as she had felt in that field and he was rising from the bed as if he were in pain.

"Casey," Cas said, breathlessly, taking a step forward.

She wrapped her arms around him and he rested his chin on her head. He was alive. Casey tightened her grip and almost didn't believe it. When those angels had taken him… She'd feared the very worst.

"Are you alright? Should I heal you?" She asked after a moment, pulling back to look at him and considering his injuries. "What happened?"

"I am well." Cas said, touching her cheek. "I admit, they did not treat me kindly, but they should not have attempted to take me by themselves. I sustained injuries, which are healing, but I was able to overpower them. I have been recovering, Casey, and I'll be fine."

Casey nodded and briefly explained what she had done. "Dad? What happened to me?"

Cas pulled her toward the bed and they sat down while Sam and Bennett sat across from them on the other bed. Cas glanced at Sam and said, "This happened to me once, Casey. Sam, you will remember the time. It was in our attempt to stave off the apocalypse."

"When we were trying to rescue Adam." Sam said around the tightness in his throat as he remembered that horrible day. "You took out a bunch of angels and were blown to kingdom come."

"Yes." Cas nodded, looking back at Casey, "I used a powerful sigil against a group of angels and I, like you, woke up miles away, powerless and, for all intents and purposes, human."

"But you got your powers back." Casey said.

Cas shook his head, "Not exactly the same way you did. You are much more powerful than I am, Casey. What you did earlier...I would have died if I had attempted it. And you are recovering more quickly than I am even from what just happened to me."

"So she's going to be ok?" Sam asked.

"Yes." Cas said, squeezing Casey's hand.

She frowned, "What did those angels want with us? Who were they?"

"I don't know for certain." Cas said, "I believe they may have been angels who are attempting to restore the balance of power. You throw off the balance, Casey."

"I didn't mean to." Casey smiled wearily, knowing exactly what her father was thinking. Their secret was out. People, angels and demons, knew about her. Knew she was a Nephilim. Knew about her powers. She was in danger.

"Casey." Cas' voice interrupted her thoughts. He said, "I must go. I..I need to know what is going on out there. Please, lay low for now. You're in danger. Just as Crowley is ensuring your safety on his end, I must also do so."

"But it's not just me that's in danger, Dad. We're in danger." Casey stressed. "Let me help you…"

"No. Not right now. The time will come." Cas said, standing up. "I can do this right now as long as I know you will stay here and be safe. Promise me."

Casey felt the weariness still in her bones and as much as she wanted to protest, as much as she wanted to be there with him, help him in their fight, she knew he was right. He'd been an angel a lot longer than she had even been alive. She squeezed his arm and said, "Be careful."

He nodded, "You too. I will be back when I have answers."

And he was gone. For a moment, Casey wondered if she hadn't made the wrong decision, but then she put it behind her. She had someone else she needed to focus on. Casey turned back to Sam and asked, "Where is he?"

"Room next door." Sam said, his eyes tight with worry. "I think he took out a liquor store. He hasn't let us in to see him since he got back. And that was about an hour after...after we got here."

"I should talk to him." Casey said quickly. She felt sick. After everything they'd been through at the bunker, the fight, the break-up...for him to have watched her basically explode into nothingness.. It couldn't be good what he was going through. She ran a hand through her hair and asked, "How much like a horror movie extra do I look?"

"Well, you look…" Sam started diplomatically, then just admitted with a smile, "Ok, you look pretty bad."

Casey nodded. It was good to see a smile on Sam's face. He could be so serious sometimes. She rose and headed to the bathroom for a washcloth. She said, "I should change. Bennett? Can I borrow a shirt?"

"Sure thing, Casey." Bennett said, rushing to her bag and yanking out an armful of clothes. She handed Casey a black t-shirt with Led Zeppelin written on it in gray letters. "Will this work?"

"Sure. Do you even know who Led Zeppelin is?" Casey asked, glancing at Sam, who respectfully turned his back so Casey could change her shirt.

"Nope." Bennett answered, "Dean picked it out. He said I needed to look more cultured."

"Uh huh. Well next time, let me help you pick out clothes. Dean wouldn't know cultured if it kicked him in the butt," Casey laughed. She pulled the shirt on and smoothed her hair down as best as she could. Heading to the door, she paused when Sam called her name.

"Hey," Sam started. "Are you sure you are ok?"

"Not really." She smiled, "But I will be." Pausing by the door, Casey looked back at the others and said, "This is probably going to take a while. Maybe now would be a good time for you to get ahold of Crowley and see what he has to say about Bennett's powers."

Bennett looked a bit uncomfortable with the suggestion, but Sam nodded.

Dean heard the knocking on the door and groaned. Probably Sammy again. I wish he would just leave me alone already. Dean wanted to be alone. He wanted to drink until he couldn't feel the pain anymore. He was out of whiskey and wanted to go get more from the Impala but he couldn't get himself to go that far. So he grabbed the bottles from the mini bar of the room and went to town destroying his liver.

The knocking turned to pounding but still Dean ignored it, pillowing his head on his arms. Eventually Sam would go away; he had the last two times. After another minute the pounding stopped and Dean closed his eyes, enjoying the silence. The silence was deafening though. The silence made his thoughts louder. And the louder his thoughts the more he felt the pain of Casey's loss.

Dean didn't open his eyes when he heard the fluttering of wings. It was Cas, and he didn't want to talk to the angel right now. The silence continued for another minute but was broken by a voice saying "Seriously? I disappear for six hours and you start trying to drink yourself to death? Really Dean? I'd rather not have to heal you from liver failure."

At the sound of her voice, Dean's eyes shot open and he sat up so fast his head spun. Gripping the edge of the bed, he looked up at the woman standing in the middle of the room. She was in dirty jeans and a Led Zeppelin concert t-shirt that he vaguely remembered giving to Bennett. Her hair was a mess and there was still some blood at her hairline, but she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Desperate to get to her, but unable to move, Dean stared at her as she crossed the room. Dean reached out a shaking hand to touch Casey's face, afraid she wasn't real.

"It's me. I'm ok," she whispered, putting her hand against his on her cheek.

She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Too overwhelmed, his hand slowly fell away from her cheek. He lowered his head until it was resting against her chest; she gently put a hand on the back of his head and one against his neck, cradeling him closer to her. Resting her chin against his hair, she clung to Dean, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her nearer; needing her to ground him in the moment. She was ok, he was ok, and everything was going to be ok.

"What happened? How are you… I thought you…." Dean said when he finally pulled away. He didn't let go of Casey's waist; he was afraid if he did then she wouldn't be real.

"It's difficult to explain," Casey answered. She reached to touch Dean's face. His stubble tickled her palm, but she didn't mind. She wiped away the stray tear that trailed down his handsome face. "Don't you know, if I disappear you should wait at least six hours before panicking?"

"I thought that was for swimming," Dean smiled. He didn't care what had happened. He was just relieved that she was ok and she was here in his arms where she belonged.

"Well that too," Casey said, returning his smile. "I love you."

"I love you too. More than anything," Dean replied. He pulled Casey closer and held her against him. "Don't ever do that to me again."

Casey nodded into his chest and simply promised "I won't."

"And I'm telling you the truth. Why would I lie?"

"Maybe because you're a demon?" Bennett said, folding her arms across her chest and tilting her head in irritation.

Crowley just rolled his eyes, "You don't know me very well, so let me clue you in, hell brat. I keep my word. And I don't lie. I've got standards."

Bennett chewed her lip and narrowed her eyes as she studied him. The demon disgusted her, but a quick glance at Sam showed her that he seemed to believe Crowley, even if he didn't look happy about it. She asked, "So this is just going to get worse?"

"Better, worse, impossible to know." Crowley glanced briefly at Sam, then looked back at Bennett. He said, "Like I already warned you, your adorable little powers are barely under control. We have no idea what you can do, or what your powers can do to you. No one's ever seen one of Azazel's little experiments pop out of hell after developing their powers down there."

Sam rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Basically you have no idea either."

"Basically." Crowley shrugged. He looked at Bennett and said, "I know you already don't like it, what you can see and do. What you can hear. I just want you to be an informed consumer. It probably isn't going to get easier."

Bennett took a slow breath and sat down on the edge of the bed. This was not what she had wanted to hear. Looking up at Crowley, she asked, "Can you make it go away?"

Crowley shook his head, "I don't know. I don't think so. But, as I have already pointed out, I'm not exactly the expert on your little predicament."

"Thought you were the king of hell." Bennett snapped.

"Yes." Crowley nodded, showing great patience although his eyes were hostile and irritated. "That title does not mean I know everything. Look, I don't like you. Don't particularly like the crowd you're hanging out with, either." He glared at Sam, then continued, "But Casey seems fond of you for some reason. I'll ask around. Do a bit of research. Get back to you."

Bennett stared at him, conflicted. She felt overtired and confused. There was no way she could trust him, and yet, Casey did. And so, apparently did the Winchesters. She watched as he tilted his head as if hearing something from far away.

He said, "Gotta run. Duty calls. I'll be back when I can."

Once he disappeared, Sam asked, "Could you read his thoughts?"

She nodded, feeling sick. Bennett said, "He was telling the truth, though. He has no idea. And he's...he's afraid of me."

"Good. He should be." Sam smiled, "But he doesn't know you could read his thoughts, right?"

"I don't think so."

"Ok. That's good too. Crowley definitely doesn't need to know about that." Sam said, checking his watch.

Bennett said, "Sam."

"Yeah?"

"I need a cigarette."

He hesitated for a moment and she knew he didn't want to say yes. Of course, she didn't care one way or the other. She was going to have a cigarette with or without his permission which she certainly didn't need. Sam nodded, though, and said, "One cigarette then we go find something to eat. It's been a long day."

Bennett nodded, pulling on her jacket. Last thing she wanted to think about right now was food, but she knew he was trying to help; trying to distract her. They stepped outside and he glanced next door.

"I'm going to check on them." Sam said, "Hang on a second, ok?"

"I'll just go over there." Bennett pointed, desperate to light up. "I'm fine, Sam. I'll be right there."

It took a moment, but he finally nodded and let her go. Walking to a curb far enough away from the motel and the Impala to keep anyone from yelling at her, Bennett sat down and, with shaking hands, lit a cigarette. It had terrified her to have Sam contact Crowley, but they'd needed to know what he knew. Which, of course, had turned out to be nothing. Nothing except reinforcing her own fears.

There was probably no way to get rid of the power.

Sam watched until Bennett sat down on the curb and he was certain she wasn't going any farther away. Turning, he knocked softly on the door. No one answered, so he tried the knob. Finding it unlocked, he pushed it open and smiled at the sight that greeted him.

Dean was holding Casey in his arms, but she was slumped so far over that he seemed to be having trouble holding her up. Dean blinked up at him, seeming a bit disoriented. From the smell of the room, Sam wasn't surprised that his brother was out of it. Given the amount of liquor he'd apparently consumed, Sam was more surprised Dean was actually still able to get his eyes open. Sam smiled.

"You two look comfortable." he teased quietly, leaning against the doorframe.

Dean glared at him, obviously well aware of their rather awkward position. He shifted, attempting to sit up and ended up dropping Casey flat on her face on the mattress. Dean grimaced, then looked up at Sam guiltily. Sam just laughed.

"Shut up." Dean muttered, easing Casey onto her back.

She gave no indication of waking up, just snorted and found a comfortable position. Dean stared at her for a moment, then looked up at Sam, feeling the stress, anxiety and liquor hit him like a gale force wind. Standing up, he was surprised when he felt himself falling. But he didn't hit the ground; just found himself flat on his face on the bed next to Casey.

He shifted slightly and mumbled, "I hate you."

"Right." Sam rolled his eyes, the movement enough to make Dean dizzy. He slammed his eyes closed while Sam continued, "I just kept you from hitting the rather stained carpet."

"'m eternally grateful." Dean slurred. He sounded anything but eternally grateful.

"Sure you are." Sam's voice grew distant.

Dean forced an eye open and asked, "Where're you going?"

Sam stopped by the door and said, "What? You want me to tuck you in or something? I'm going to take Bennett out for dinner while you two recover from your individualized attempts to kill yourselves."

"Kinda late for dinner, isn't it?"

"Been a long day." Sam sighed, shooting his brother a meaningful look. "Besides, not all of us drank our supper, Dean."

Blinking slowly, Dean tried to focus on his brother's face; or one of them anyway. The long day hadn't been easy on any of them and he knew he hadn't helped anything by running off and getting himself drunk. Fighting to get his mouth to form coherent words, he asked, "Ya ok Sammy?"

"Yeah, Dean. I'm good." Sam smiled. "Get some sleep, ok?"

"Bring us breakfast in the morning, ok?" Dean mumbled, slinging an arm across Casey's back. He heard Sam laugh and added, "Don't stay out too late…"

"Whatever, man." Sam laughed. He could hear his brother already snoring as he closed the door behind him.

His smile faded as he looked over at Bennett. He knew she was barely hanging on with everything that had been happening. From her powers to the trauma of what had happened to Casey, to the tension between Dean and Casey, culminating with their conversation with Crowley, he couldn't blame her for verging on a nervous breakdown. Walking over to her, he had to admit she was doing an amazing job of not having a nervous breakdown.

"Hey." He said, sitting down next to her. "How are you doing?"

She shrugged and gave him a quick half-smile. Bennett lowered her hand and stared at the cigarette. For a moment, she was silent, then she finally said, "I...it's just been a lot. You know? Everything. Not just today. Everything. All of it."

Sam nodded. It was a lot. He waited for her to go on. It took a few minutes, but she finally spoke up.

"I thought, for awhile, that it was over. Hoped...that...I was done." She dropped the cigarette and rubbed her hands over her face, then tucked her hands into her pockets and looked up at him. Her eyes were still red and puffy, underlined in dark circles. Taking a deep breath, Bennett said, "I thought, when we got to the bunker, that maybe it was all over. I didn't feel the same way. I thought the power...was gone."

"But it wasn't."

She shook her head. "It wasn't gone. It changed...got worse. I started to remember...my life before. And that...it's awful." Hands pressed against her temples, she whispered, "I didn't want this. And I don't want to hear them. To have this...this power. Sam, it scares me. I want it gone."

"I know." He wrapped his arms around her and she tucked her head under his chin.

They were silent for a few moments, then she spoke up again, "As scary as it is...I'm more scared that if I didn't have the power...that, well, I wouldn't be much use to you guys without it. I didn't make it through high school so it's not like I have a lot of skills. I don't know how to kill things. I'm not a hunter. This is the only thing I know how to do to help. I can't even shoot a gun; just ask Casey."

Sam smiled, "You need more practice. And it doesn't matter if you can shoot or not. I don't want you to have to shoot a gun. I don't want you to have to kill things." He pushed her back so he could meet her eyes. He said, "And I don't want you to be afraid. I know you've been on a wild ride since Cas pulled you up from hell. But I don't want you to be afraid that you're going to disappoint us or that we wouldn't want you around without this power."

Bennett didn't look convinced, "But why would you want me around if I was just normal? If I couldn't do anything to help you hunt monsters?"

"Maybe because we like you?" Sam laughed at her puzzled expression. He said, "Bennett, I know you seem to feel this very pressing need to live up to some high expectations that you keep making up in your head. But I want you to know something. I don't care." He glanced up as a car with a bad muffler went by, grateful for the interruption so he could gather his thoughts. "I don't care if you do or don't have any superpowers, if you can't shoot a gun, if you didn't graduate from high school. The only thing I care about is you."

Bennett held his gaze and he could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

He went on, "I wish you could be normal. I've always wanted, tried, to be normal. But that's never going to happen. And I'm finally, mostly, ok with that. Dean and I… this is our life. Weird. Crazy. Messy. If you want a normal life, you probably want to get as far away from me as you can. And I really hope you don't want to do that."

"Why?"

"Because I like making breakfast with you." He said simply, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "And if you want normal, you need to get as far away from us as possible."

"I'm not going anywhere." Bennett's smile widened as she moved even closer. "I like making breakfast with you too."

Sam leaned down and gave her a kiss. His hand still on her cheek, he whispered, "Bennett, I...I don't know exactly how to say this. Relationships…"

"Take work." She said softly.

"Yes." He nodded, struggling to find the words he needed. Straightening up, he turned away and stared at the gas station across the street for a moment. Swallowing hard, he finally said, "I haven't always had the best luck with them. Our line of work doesn't exactly make it easy to maintain a relationship. Once, a long time ago, though, I took a chance."

Bennett touched his hand and asked gently, "What kind of chance?"

"I let myself fall in love." Sam said, surprised at how much it still ached to say it aloud.

How much it hurt to remember Jessica. Her smile. The way she loved to bake. The way she'd given him something he'd never had before; had never known existed. For a moment, he couldn't speak as he thought about her and realized that none of his other relationships through the years, not even Amelia, had ever meant the same thing as his relationship with Jessica had. Blinking back unexpected tears, Sam looked back at Bennett.

He said, "I've always thought it was the best mistake I ever made. And I've always told myself it was a mistake; to get involved like that, to let someone into my life. But it wasn't a mistake. And it's not a mistake now." Sam took her hands and said, "I'm in love with you, Bennett. I don't know when exactly it happened, and I know we've only known each other for a few weeks. The last thing I want to do is…"

"Shut up." Bennett said, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss. She pulled back with a smile. "Skip all the crap, Sam. None of it matters. None of it. You love me and, guess what? I love you. That's all that matters."

Smiling, Sam let his forehead rest against hers. He felt his heart pounding as he said, "I want to make breakfast with you…"

"Tomorrow?"

"Forever." Sam whispered, asking her more than just a simple question about breakfast. "Wanna?"

Bennett nodded slowly and he knew she knew what he meant. She smiled and said, "Yes." They kissed again, then Bennett asked, "So you think we can just work out all the rest of this stuff...and keep making breakfast?"

"Yes." He said, feeling happier than he had in a long time. He smiled, "We can work the rest of it out."

"So you'll keep me around even if I can't shoot a gun…"

"You can practice…"

"...but can kill a demon with my mind?"

"I will."

"Even with my disastrous personal history?"

Sam rolled his eyes, "Trust me, we do not want to compare notes on disastrous personal histories. Ever."

"Deal." Bennett nodded, then whispered, "You must be crazy."

"Crazy about you." Sam said, taking her hand, glad that she seemed reassured and that

some of the weight had lifted off her shoulders. He asked, "You want dinner?"

She nodded.

Sam went on, "But I'm going to warn you, it's not just dinner."

"Oh?"

"It's a date."

Bennett grinned, "Really? Like a real date?"

"Yeah. Without demons."

"Sounds wonderful." Bennett nodded, standing up and pulling him to his feet. "I'm starving."

Thanks for reading! Hope you're enjoying. Much more to come!