"Tell me what to do to help."

By that point, Dean knew his way around the kitchen well enough to not just bee in her way. As much as he enjoyed Mae waiting on him, it was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable the longer it went on. He wasn't staying at her house just so she could make him comfortable. She was the one who needed tending to, given her interactions with the kitsune.

This time, she pulled two dishes out of the fridge, which Dean assumed she placed there when he was snooping earlier in anticipation of dinner. She turned on the oven and placed both dishes in. He leaned against the counter and watched her work, his gaze never leaving her as she moved around the kitchen, her hair falling over her face.

Mae leaned over the butcher block island, slight smirk on her face. "It's not like I'm cooking a 7 course meal here, Dean. There's not much to do. Just wait while things heat up."

He nodded. "Maybe tomorrow, we could get the fresh food you're after. I could make you dinner."

"I'm not sure if I'm more surprised by you lifting the house arrest or the idea that you could cook."

"I'm not completely useless, okay?"

"I never said you were. In my experience, you're a very resourceful boy. I just think we can do better than...cereal or mostly a heated can of beef stew."

Dean chuckled, "Hey, cereal is a perfectly acceptable meal any time of the day or night. But maybe this thing is really out here to die or whatever and we're not in danger."

"This is going to sound like all I want to do is argue with you but, you know, if it wants to leave this place, it's going to want to get out in one of us. It doesn't seem to be able to cross iron by itself, it might not be able to do it walking out in a person, but it was able to cross when we were in the car. But it didn't like it."

"It wasn't able to possess you or me though. Knock us out, yeah but what good will that do if we're passed out?"

Mae shook her head. "Couldn't tell ya. I still think it will just let us go. But we can keep thinking it over and wait until it seem safe."

Dean nodded, his gaze still fixated on Mae. "Deal." He walked around the island to wrap his arms around her middle and kiss the back of her head. Mae relaxed her back against his chest, letting out a contented sigh as she leaned into him.

"Sam can see it, you know."

"The kitsune? How do you know?"

"When you went upstairs, we were down here. He just looked out there and could see it clear as day. I guess it's kind of glowy. I couldn't see it."

"But you could, earlier today."

"Yeah but it just looked like a fox. I didn't see it when he did, like I looked out and nothing was there."

Dean frowned. "Let's hope that's what he's seeing and he's not just having a massive hallucination. If it is real, maybe we can use it."

"If Sam is feeling up to it in the next day or so, we should survey the property, see what he sees."

"Yeah, if we think we can keep safe... it's a good idea."

Dean pulled Mae tighter against him, his chin resting on her shoulder. It felt good to have her there with him. They stood in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Dean couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next. He had a feeling that things were only going to get worse before they got better. They stayed like that for a few moments before Mae broke his reflection when she asked if he wanted a beer. As they waited for dinner to finish cooking, they sat in the living room, drink beer and watching some mindless TV.

Mae curled up against Dean, her head resting on his shoulder. Her beer bottle resting on her bare leg, held lightly between her hands held together in prayer pose. She closed her eyes. More than anything at that point, she was tired. If she hadn't had the boys in tow, she might have slept for a day or two. A soft smile touched her lips. She didn't mind that Dean had more interactive activities for them in bed. There was always a small but lingering doubt that even Dean would eventually grow tired of her and know all of these dark, personal things about her would make those random hook ups far more appealing to him.

That level of self-doubt, particularly about something as silly as a man, left her uncomfortable. Particularly given Dean's confession that he was crazy about her, that he loved her, that he couldn't get enough of her. All of that would have been a needless lie. There was too much between them to necessitate that kind of lie and he wasn't manipulative enough to make her need him, fall in love with him all over again just so he could break her heart. Right?

She listened to him breath and occasionally take a drink or lightly chuckle at whatever he was watching. No, she thought, Dean wasn't needlessly cruel, and she thought she could trust him. Her mind and ego were grasping at little threads of insecurity. Mae's eyes opened when she felt Dean shift under her but instead of getting up, he just wrapped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer. With a light sigh, she nestled into his protective embrace.

Mae hovered between wakefulness and drifting into sleep against his warm, firm best. It had been a long time since she felt safe enough to truly relax with someone. Dean could tell Mae was dozing off, her breathing becoming shallow and even, her weight relaxing firmly into his side. He smiled to himself, happy she was relaxing and didn't feel like she had to take care of him.

He finished his beer and eased her barely touched one out of her hands. He shifted slightly, bringing her closer to him. He didn't want to wake her, but he couldn't resist reaching over to brush some strands of hair away from her face. He craned his head back and watched as her lips parted slightly, her chest rising and falling softly with each breath. Dean's eyes lingered on Mae's lips, his mind wandering to more exciting thoughts. He couldn't get enough of her. The way she moved beneath him, the sounds she made, the way she looked at him with hunger in her eyes. He wanted her again. But didn't want to ruin this moment of peace and relaxation for her. Instead, he picked up the remote and scrolled through the channels, settling on a movie he had seen a hundred times before, content to just be with her until the oven beeped to signal that the food was ready.

At the sound, she jumped a bit, slightly disoriented. Dean didn't hold back a laugh. Mae sat straighter on the sofa, frowning at him. "I'm awake."

"Sure."

"I was." Her frown deepened as his smirk grew. "I was just...closing my eyes a minute."

"Clearly. You still wanna eat?"

Mae nodded. "Yeah, I'll get it dished up. We can just eat out here, if you want."

She stood and walked to the kitchen. She assumed Dean would wait in the living room but to her surprise, he was almost directly behind her when she turned around.

"Need some help?" he asked, a mischievous glint in his eye she couldn't quite read

Mae shook her head. "No, I've got this."

Dean raised his eyebrows, a hint of amusement tugging at his lips. "Okay, okay. Just making sure." He stepped back and watched as Mae pulled plates and flatware out of the cupboards and drawers. Dean leaned against the kitchen island, his eyes fixed on her. Mae had a strength and resilience about her that he found incredibly attractive. Watching her, he missed what she saw but grew concerned as her smooth efficient movements stopped after she set the plates on the island.

He tracked her eye line to the window. "What?"

There was a chill in her voice. "Do you see that light?"

Any sense of drowsiness and ease evaporated as he ran through the list of possible causes and solutions. They weren't really ready to deal with the kitsune attacking or something worse right then. "Maybe someone's on the property?"

Mae shook her head. "No. Unless they walked here, we would have heard a vehicle.

Dean wasn't certain he would have, and Mae wasn't full awake. It could be a regular person and while he wasn't wild about that scenario, it might have been preferable. "So they walked. Or it's some other...something or an evil pet spirit fox you adopted."

She pressed her lips together as she once again grabbed her knife off the counter. It was an inexplicable choice, Dean thought, given all the other weapons they had on hand and how useless a chef knife would be against most things. Mae moved around him to open the back deck door. He tried to catch her arm to pull her back but wasn't quick enough.

"C'mon Mae. You're not even wearing pants. Or shoes. This is..."

She didn't listen to his complaint. Instead, Mae stepped out onto the deck, her eyes scanning the darkness for any other clues. Aside from the light, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The light grew brighter, coming from the direction of the woods. It was a solid ball of light, no beam or movement like a person with a flashlight.

Dean hesitated, but he followed her out onto the deck. He didn't think he had time to grab a more useful or even intimidating weapon, but he didn't want to leave her alone for those few moments. With a sigh, he stepped close to her. The deck wasn't too large but there was no way on or off aside from the door or jumping. They could make the jump, if needed but he didn't want to try it barefoot in the dark.

Mae's focus was on the light at the tree line. It was hard to ignore. As they stood there, the light grew brighter until it was almost blinding. Mae raised her arm to shield her eyes and Dean followed suit. Suddenly, there was a deafening crackling sound and then the light disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"What the hell was that?" Dean muttered, finally dropping his arm.

Mae shook her head, still trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. "I don't know, but I think it was the kitsune."

Dean's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You think it was the kitsune?" he repeated, incredulously, "where was that in the lore?"

Mae nodded, still staring intently at the tree line. "Yeah," she said. "Well, it's said they can ascend. Maybe that's what it looks like. I don't know what else it could be."

"Maybe a falling star?"

With a laugh, she shook her head. "Did that seem like it was falling to you?"

It didn't. It was bright and loud but stationary. Dean took a step closer to her, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back. "We should look in the morning."

Mae nodded again, but her eyes were still fixed on the spot where the light had been. The atmosphere seemed different, felt different. She couldn't be certain, but it really did seem like the kitsune had left, not escaped the barriers of her property but really gone on to wherever kitsune went when they left this world.

Dean watched Mae in silence, feeling the weight of the moment as they both stood on the deck, gazing out at the trees. He didn't know what to say, and Mae seemed lost in thought, her eyes still trained in the direction of the now-vanished light.

As the minutes ticked by, Dean's hand crept up her back until he was lightly stroking her hair. He didn't want to break the silence, but he couldn't let her stay lost in thought forever. Finally, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Let's go inside. We can finish dinner and try to get some sleep."

Mae nodded but didn't move. The silence was heavy between them, broken only by the sound of crickets and the occasional rustle of leaves in the gentle wind. Finally, Mae spoke. "I think it's really gone," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Dean wasn't even sure she was telling him that, as much as she was trying to reassure herself. "How do you know?"

"I can feel it," Mae replied, turning to face him. "Or rather, I don't feel it anymore. Everything feels...like it used to before it was here."

Dean studied her face for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. If you say so."

Mae smiled, relieved that he didn't seem to think she was crazy. "We need to be careful," she said firmly. "I don't think we should let our guard down for even a second."

Dean leaned in and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He didn't need to be reminded of that simple fact. "C'mon, let's go back in." He repeated.

She turned around once more, looking over the pasture land, to the trees, and along the river, all almost imperceptibly dark, highlighted only by the interior lights of her home now. Mae took one last deep breath before turning to follow Dean back inside, still holding her knife firmly in her hand.

As they made their way back into the kitchen, the aroma from the oven filled the air. She smiled as Dean pulled the dishes out of the oven and after a quick search, found the button to turn off the time. He removed the aluminum foil from the top of the containers and hummed an approving sound upon finding meatloaf, green beans and mashed potatoes.

They served themselves. Dean noticed her almost comically small portion she served herself and lack of enthusiasm for the meal and grew concerned. He set down his fork and leaned across the table to take her hand. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.

Mae forced a smile. "I'm fine. Just a little distracted."

Dean didn't push, knowing he wouldn't get any further when she was in thinking mode. She would likely share whatever she was working out in her mind later, if it made any sense to her then. They finished their meal, cleaned up, and headed upstairs to bed.

That night, they lay in bed, exhausted from the events of the day. Mae was curled on her side, facing Dean. One of her delicate hands rested on his chest. He didn't want to move, for fear of losing her touch. She had fallen asleep straight away, but sleep didn't come easily for him. He lay in her insanely comfortable bed for what felt like hours, his mind racing with various scenarios and possibilities. He had no way of knowing if Mae was right, about the kitsune being gone and didn't have enough information to make any sort of plan. Eventually, exhaustion overtook him, and he drifted off into a fitful sleep. But even in his dreams, he couldn't escape the underlying sense of unease that had settled over him.

The next morning, Mae was up before him. Dean found her standing in the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of coffee fully dressed in jeans. a t-shirt and even a bra, when Dean stumbled in, still half-asleep, and apparently unprepared for whatever she had planned. He rubbed his eyes and grumbled a good morning, which Mae returned with a gentle smile.

Mae handed him a fresh cup of coffee. He took an appreciative sip before thanking her and giving her a quick kiss. "I'm not sure why none of you know the proper time to wake up in the morning."

"Me and... all the people you see in my kitchen?"

Dean grumbled. "You and Sam. Bunch a crack o' dawn assholes is what you are."

She smirked. "And here I was, being nice and making you coffee."

He took another sip, letting the warmth spread through his body. As he drank, he noticed that Mae had been staring at him for a few moments too long.

"What?" he asked, self-consciously.

"Nothing," Mae replied, a teasing glint in her eye. "I just like looking at you."

Dean chuckled, indulging in her comment. "Well, I don't mind if you keep looking. So," he started, looking her over appreciatively, "looks like you have a plan for the day. What is it?"

Once all three hunters were awake and sufficiently caffeinated, Mae led the expedition around the house to see if they could find any sign of the kitsune or if, given all the ability they had to detect it, it was gone.

They hadn't made it much farther than the front stoop when she stopped. Stepping outside, she leaned down to pick something up. But Dean wasn't sure why. All she said was 'huh.' When she stood, straightened, and turned back to them, he saw she was holding a bowl.

"It brought it back."

"The kitsune?"

She nodded but Dean shook his head. "Why?"

"I... I have no idea. When it took off, I didn't think I'd see it again. I didn't think it would leave it somewhere...thoughtful."

"Maybe you're giving it too much credit."

"It left it somewhere ease for me to find, that it could reach without crossing any protective barrier. That's not really wild animal or monster behavior. Maybe you're not giving it enough credit."

Dean frowned but didn't argue with her right then.. Mae passed the bowl back to Dean, who passed it to Sam, who set it back inside before they set out. They spent the morning exploring the area around the tree line, following the river and scanning the ground for any signs of disturbance. They found nothing out of the ordinary, no tracks or remains of any kind. Dean tried to keep his growing frustrated to himself. It felt like they were wasting their time, but Mae and Sam were more engaged in the search.

After all that, Sam didn't see anything. Mae didn't sense anything. Most importantly, nothing bad happened. There was no proof that it was gone, no proof that it was here but both Mae and Sam agreed that they thought it was gone. It appear that they were safe, at least for now.

A/N- Well, that's it for Give Up the Ghost. Thanks for sticking with the story so far over all these years. I've truly enjoyed the comments and messages I've received, and I hope you enjoyed reading! While I do have a fairly extensive plot outlined through several more seasons, I'm still not sure if I plan to keep writing. There are some other projects I want to focus on for the time being. But, if you want to see where I take Mae and Dean, please drop a comment or message. If there's enough interest, I'll start posting the next story.