Chapter 12: Demons and Deadly Deals

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Mia, happy birthday to you," The waiters at the breakfast diner sang to the embarrassed twenty-year-old.

Dean and Sam smirked as they saw her discomfort at being sung to by the wait staff who then presented her with a slice of cake with a candle on top.

"For she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny," The staff finished and clapped. By this time all of the occupants in the diner had turned to stare at Mia. She sank lower in her seat, finding all of the attention unsettling.

Eventually, the staff left Mia to enjoy her birthday cake. She turned to Dean and Sam who were sniggering at the redness of her cheeks.

"All right, which one of you jerks told them it was my birthday?" She demanded.

Dean raised his hand. "That would have been me. I even bribed them to sing it twice."

Mia's scowl lifted into a radiant smile, "I can't believe you remembered my birthday!"

Sam grinned at her and pulled out a box with a bow on top of it from under the table. "Don't pull it out in here, but me and Dean put our money together to buy you a Pavona pistol."

Mia opened the lid of the box to see the beautiful gun. It was black with a dark purple/blue handle that was covered in a glitter pattern. The design resembled a starry night sky and Mia absolutely adored it.

"Dean, you got the wrong color," Sam groaned to his brother quietly as Mia stared at her present.

"What? You said 'Pick her favorite color', her favorite color is purple, right?" Dean hissed back.

Sam whispered back, "It's blue, her favorite color is blue. We've known her for months, how do you not know this?"

"It's okay, purple works too! Thank you both much! It's perfect!" Mia declared, having overheard their whispers. She then reached across the table to give the brothers a hug.

The birthday girl was ecstatic. She'd barely expected a birthday greeting from the brothers, let alone gifts. The gun she held in her hands was awesome. She'd always been jealous of Sam and Dean's more suited guns while she'd always been forced to use one of their old, plainer ones, which had a deadly recoil spring. Mia admired her new gun in its case before putting it away. She didn't want to get kicked out of the diner for having a gun.

Sam returned his attention to his research while Dean jealously watched Mia enjoy her birthday cake. The three of them had already finished breakfast but he was still hungry. Eventually, Mia glanced up and saw his longing looks.

"Fine," she sighed in defeat, "you can have a bit of it."

Dean grinned as Mia cut a quarter of her cake slice and placed it onto his plate. "Have I mentioned you're the best twenty-year-old, in the world?" Dean cooed as he began inhaling his sliver of cake.

Mia smirked, "Not nearly enough."

Sam lifted his head from his laptop. "Guys, get this; I found a new case. There's this man, his name is Sean Boyden, a famous architect in this town who jumped off of a building he designed."

"That's classy," Dean remarked. "Design a building then take a swan dive off of it."

Mia looked over to Sam, "How is this a case for us? Sounds like a clear-cut suicide to me."

"Yes, but before his 'suicide', he made several calls to animal control complaining about a big, black dog that seemed to be in his condominium. Animal control found nothing and didn't understand how a dog could get past the security guards outside, up the elevator, and into his room. He jumped off the building a few days later," Sam explained as he scanned the online article.

"Are there any myths that deal with a creature like that?" Mia questioned as she continued to enjoy her birthday cake.

Sam nodded and angled his laptop to face her and his brother. "There's a lot of lore on it, but it's pretty vague. Some are animal spirits, demons, death omens, but one thing is for sure; they're bad news."

Dean, who had been secretly stealing forkfuls of Mia's cake while she was distracted, pointed at a rather large depiction of a giant dog and smirked, "I bet they could hump the crap out of your leg."

Sam shot his brother an unimpressed glance.

"If that dog was to hump your leg you would die," Mia retorted. "And stop trying to steal more bites of my cake, I already gave you a big piece!"

Dean moaned in agony, "I can't help it. Those pancakes didn't fill me up. I'm still hungry like a wolf."

He glanced up expectantly at Mia and Sam, anticipating their hysterical reactions to what he'd said. His brother rolled his eyes while Mia just stared at him as she chewed her cake.

"Hahaha, sorry. I didn't mean to Hound you with my jokes," Dean laughed at his own puns, ignoring their silence.

Mia sighed, "Dean, it's my birthday, you and Sam bought me the most amazing present, and I'm in a really good mood so I don't want to yell at you, but if you keep making jokes like that, I'll have no choice."

The three of them left the diner and changed into their business clothes to interview Ron, Sean's architectural partner at his condo building.

They explained to Ron that they were taking notes for a tribute to Sean in the next month's issue of Architectural Digest. Ron told them he didn't understand why Sean would commit suicide as he lived a charmed life and, up until the phone calls made to animal control, he'd never had any strange encounters with large, black dogs.

"So you and Mr. Boyden were partners for how many years?" Mia clarified as she copied notes onto her clipboard.

"Ten," Ron sighed sadly. "We've been friends for much longer. I knew him before the talent. Back when he couldn't even design a house out of Lego."

Dean frowned inquisitively. "Wait, are you saying that Mr. Boyden wasn't always an architect?"

Ron laughed darkly, "He may be praised almost everywhere in architecture nowadays, but more than ten years ago, he was working this dead-end job at a bar called Lloyd's. Then almost overnight, he gets the commission and starts designing the most beautiful buildings anyone has ever seen. I mean, he became the architectural equivalent of Mozart, and van Gogh and…" He trailed off for a moment.

"Huh," he continued, "true geniuses… They always seem to die young, don't they?"

Mia nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Like Janis Joplin, John Bonham, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison."

At the mention of the last name, Dean gave Mia a secretive smile. He greatly approved of her list of true artists.

Ron shrugged. "Yeah, sure…. But why do they just throw their talent away?"

Once they had concluded the interview, Sam suggested they check out the Animal Control Center to see if anyone else had called to complain about a big, black dog. Dean volunteered to go inside while Sam and Mia sat in the Impala and talked.

"What do you think we're dealing with?" Mia asked.

"I honestly have no idea, I don't think we've ever encountered a case like this before. A giant black dog that seems to bring death to innocent people. Then for some strange reason, Sean didn't always have the talent for architecture?" Sam questioned as he went over the facts.

"You know what I'm starting to think we're dealing with?" Mia offered.

"What?"

"Sirius Black."

Sam laughed loudly at the idea.

Mia shrugged. "Hey, maybe animaguses do exist and we just haven't encountered them, anything is possible in this line of work, right?"

Sam snorted and opened the driver's door when he noticed Dean walking out of the building with a file in his arms. The older Winchester climbed into the car and shut the door.

"Any new information?" Mia asked excitedly.

Dean smirked. "Yes. The secretary's name is Carly, she's blonde, twenty-three, likes kayaks, and uh, they're real." He cupped his chest when he said the last part.

Mia rolled her eyes so far into her head she feared she would lose them back there.

Sam glanced over at the file in Dean's hands. "What's that?"

"That is all the calls made to the center concerning a big, black dog, and this," he peeled a sticky note with an address written on it and waved it in his brother's face, "is her uh, um. What is this?"

"Her MySpace address," Sam answered.

Dean frowned. "Yeah, MySpace, what the hell is that?"

Mia and Sam burst into giggles.

"Guys, don't laugh. I seriously don't know what that is."

Mia laughed even harder as she attempted to respond, "How's the shade beneath that rock you've been living under?"

"I haven't been living under a rock, I just don't know how to… Internet," Dean replied, defeatedly.

"No, you know how to Internet, you just only use it for porn," Sam teased and his brother shrugged in agreement.

They decided to visit the house where the most recent complaints came from. The home of the town's chief surgeon, Dr. Sylvia Pearlman. Like Sean Boyden, her house was extremely lavish, indicative of a charmed lifestyle.

The doctor's maid greeted the three hunters who introduced themselves as Animal Control. She explained that her employer had left and she was unsure when she would return.

"Did you see the dog yourself?" Sam asked the young woman.

She shook her head. "I never even heard it. I was so sure she was just imagining things, but she's not like that… Have you been able to find it?"

"Not yet," Mia replied, "but we'll keep you posted."

Dean glanced at a photograph that was tacked to the wall. It was a picture of the doctor partying with her friends at a bar. "Dr. Pearlman, is the chief surgeon of the hospital right? And she's only what, forty-three? That's pretty young for that position."

The maid nodded again. "Youngest to ever receive that position. She got it about…ten years ago."

Sam, Dean, and Mia exchanged glances. It seemed there was another overnight success that had occurred ten years ago, just like Sean.

"Oh hey, look at this," Dean called to the other two as he showed them the back of the photograph, which read, Lloyd's Bar 1996.

"And we have our lead," Mia stated with a smile.

They drove off to the bar and the first thing they noticed when they got there was it was right beside a four-way crossroads.

"Those flowers are beautiful," Mia remarked as she walked to the place where the yellow flowers were blowing in the breeze.

Dean turned to tell Mia to get her head out of the clouds and focus on their case but then he noticed how strange it was that the flowers seemed to grow on every side of the crossroads, not just where Mia was currently sitting.

"Those flowers, aren't they Yarrow flowers?" Dean asked his brother who also found the plantation strange.

Sam nodded. "Yes, they're typically used for summoning rituals."

"So, two people become overnight successes ten years ago, about the same time they were hanging out at this bar, that sounds a little suspicious to me," Dean announced.

"Especially since there just happens to be a crossroads, right here," Sam agreed.

Mia, who had plucked a bouquet of Yarrow flowers, walked over to the brothers who were standing in the dead center of the crossroads. "What does it mean?" She asked.

Dean dug a hole in the center of the crossroads and pulled out a box. It contained small animal bones, a jar of graveyard dirt, a black cat's bone, and a photograph of an older man.

"This is serious spell work, I'm talking Deep South hoodoo stuff," Dean remarked as he went through the box.

"Don't you mean voodoo?" Mia offered.

"No. Hoodoo."

The brunette grinned. "You remind me of the babe."

Dean frowned. "What babe?"

"The babe with the power."

Finally getting it, Dean went along with it. "What power?"

"The power of voodoo,"

"Hoodoo?" He joked.

"You do."

"Do what?"

"Remind me of the babe," Mia finished with a huge smile on her face.

Sam who scoffed at their shared joke, continued to look through the rusted box. "This stuff is used for summoning demons, and crossroads are where pacts are made. People actually make deals with demons for things like power, talent, skill…"

"That would explain people seeing the big, black dogs. They're not seeing dogs; they're seeing Hellhounds. Giant, demonic, pit bulls," Dean chimed in.

Mia nodded as she began to understand the concept. "So Pearlman and Boyden, they made deals with a demon here about ten years ago and now, it's back to collect."

"It's like that Robert Johnson legend, selling your soul at a crossroads type deal," Sam said.

Dean turned to his brother. "Legend? Have you heard the songs? There are occult references everywhere. Crossroad Blues? Me and the Devil Blues? Hellhound on My Trail?"

"Are you making these up?" Mia asked. "This is the first time I've ever heard of Robert Johnson."

Dean stared at her in disbelief. "And you think I live under a rock… Anyways, the legend goes that he died choking on his own blood and muttering about a big, black dog."

"So, he made a deal with a demon that came to collect, and now it's happening again?" Sam gathered.

Dean sighed, "Yep."

"Then we have to try and stop it," Mia told him in a determined voice.

He turned to her and frowned. "Why do we get stuck cleaning up their messes? No one forced them to make a deal with a demon. It's their own fault."

"Dean," Sam scolded.

"Look, we may be too late to help Dr. Pearlman, wherever she is, but we can still help this poor guy," Mia offered as she held up the photograph from inside the summoning box.

Dean snickered, "Yeah if he's even still alive."

"We'll check out the bar, and see if anyone recognizes him," Sam assured Mia as he shot his brother a disbelieving look. Dean's attitude changed completely once they discovered the crossroads...

According to the bartender, the man from the photograph's name was George Darrow, a frequent customer at Lloyd's bar. Luckily he was able to give them an address and the three hunters were off.

"This place isn't as nice as the last two, so I guess that means, it wasn't a deal for money," Sam assumed as they climbed the steps of the shabby apartment building.

"Then again," Dean said, "there could be babes in Princess Leia bikinis all over this place."

He grinned hopefully and Mia let out a loud laugh. "Yeah, you wish."

They reached apartment 4C but before any of them could knock, they noticed something strange. The doorway seemed to be lined with black powder.

"That's strange," Mia noted, "I always thought it was salt that protects from demons, not pepper."

"I guess this guy must've grabbed the wrong shaker," Dean suggested as he inspected the powdery substance.

Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a middle-aged, African American man who greatly resembled the photograph Mia had taken from the summoning box.

"George Darrow?" She asked.

He squinted at her. "Yeah? What do you want?"

Dean held up the man's photograph, "Tell me, have you seen any big black dogs lately?"

The man finally understood what was going on and decided to let them in for a couple of minutes.

Mia was in amazement at his studio apartment. It was small but it was covered in various paintings that adorned the walls. She was reminded of her own mother's studio that she would venture into as a child.

"These paintings are beautiful," She remarked in awe as her eyes fell on the current project he was working on. There was a man who seemed to be clutching his head in fear while a big black dog was stepping into the frame. She supposed it represented his imminent doom.

"You're sweet to say that," George sighed as he downed a cup of whiskey. "Nobody else seems to think so."

"What's the stuff lining the doorway?" Dean asked, hoping to get back on track.

George turned to him. "It's Goofer dust, used for keeping away demons. My grandma taught me that." He then tossed Dean a bag of the substance.

Dean frowned as he inspected the bag. "Never heard of it, we're used to salt."

"This is hoodoo, more effective," George countered.

"What's the difference between hoodoo and voodoo?" Mia asked in confusion.

"Hoodoo is a form of witchcraft, voodoo is a religion," George explained calmly.

Sam cleared his throat. "Look, we know you're in trouble-"

"That you got yourself into," Dean added bitterly.

Mia shot him an exasperated look before she spoke, "But there's still gotta be something we can do."

"Look," George sighed, "I appreciate what you're offering to do for me but your friend is right. I made my bed, and now I have to lie in it. I was a fool. I made that deal because… I was weak. I mean, who doesn't want their lives to mean something? To be great? It wasn't worth the price, I asked for talent when I should have asked for fame. Now I'm alone with nothing but paintings that nobody wants. I know there's no way to stop the Hellhound. I'm just trying to keep it away for as long as I can, just so I can finish my painting. I need a few more days, and then I'll be done. There's no hope for me. But if you want to help someone, the demon made deals with more people that night."

"Who else was there besides Sean Boyden and Sylvia Pearlman?" Sam demanded.

George frowned as he tried to remember. "Uh… his name was… Evan, Evan Hudson. I don't know what he asked for, but I guess it doesn't matter, we're both doomed."

"There's gotta be a way to-" Sam began but he was cut off.

"I don't want a way! I'm tired, and I have work to do," George snapped as he grabbed his paintbrush and put down his whiskey.

Mia was saddened at the thought of the artist giving up so easily. "We can't just leave you to die, please, tell us there's something we can do."

The man sighed, "No, little lady. Just leave me in peace."

Downhearted that there was nothing they could do, Dean, Sam, and Mia headed off to find the address of Evan Hudson.

By nightfall, they found the house. It wasn't lavish like Sean or Sylvia's. It made the three of them wonder what it was Evan Hudson had made a deal for.

Dean hammered his fist against the door.

A mild-looking man in his thirties appeared to answer it. "Yes?"

"Evan Hudson? Have you ever been to a bar called Lloyd's?" Dean inquired.

Evan suddenly understood what they were talking about and slammed the door shut in their faces.

"Come, on!" Dean groaned, "We're not demons!"

"So, any other ideas?" Mia questioned. She figured they were stuck outside until someone convinced Evan to answer the door.

"Yeah, I got a few," Dean replied before he stepped back and kicked the front door open.

"Wow," Mia stated, impressed by his strength. The door wasn't exactly thin.

Dean smirked at her surprise as the three of them walked inside the house to find Evan. At the end of the hallway, there was a double door that was closed with the doomed man inside.

Mia decided that she wanted to try to kick that door down so she stepped back and lifted her leg to it open but before she could, Sam stopped her by pushing her leg back down.

"Why do you two have to be so violent, the doors aren't even locked," Sam sighed as he gently turned the handle to open the doors to the study.

They walked inside and Evan leaped out from behind a bookshelf. "Please, don't hurt me!"

"We're not going to hurt you, all right? We're going to help you," Sam promised as he spoke in a gentle tone.

Evan stared at the three of them in disbelief.

"We know all about your deal," Dean explained, "we want to help."

"Can you stop it?" Evan asked.

Mia gave him a hopeful look. "We'll try to."

"Please," he begged, "I don't want to die."

Dean snorted resentfully, "Of course not. Not that you have what you made your deal for. Tell me, what was it you got? It couldn't have been money… Maybe it was to never need Viagra, roll a perfect strike in bowling, get the promotion at work?"

"Dean, stop," Sam hissed.

Evan glanced downwards. "I made it for my wife."

"Oh how nice, you got the girl. Was it really worth a trip to Hell?" Dean sneered.

"Dean," Mia snapped. "That's enough."

Mia and Sam were both appalled by Dean's bluntness and uncaring attitude.

"No, he's right," Evan sighed sheepishly, "No one forced me to make the deal, I made my own decision. I just… I was desperate."

"Why?" Sam asked curiously.

"My wife was dying of cancer. They'd stopped treatment and told me it was only a matter of days, so I made the deal. And I'd do it again, I'd die for her," Evan explained.

Dean was angry at hearing this. "Did you ever stop to think about how she would feel about this?"

"I made the deal for her, I-"

"No. You made the deal for yourself. So you wouldn't have to live without her. But how do you think she feels knowing what it cost you; that her life cost your death? Do you think that's fair?"

Sam grabbed Dean and excused the three of them from the room. They walked into the hallway and shut the door behind them.

"What is the matter with you?" Sam demanded.

"Me? I'm fine. But I have an idea. You and Mia use the goofer dust George gave me to keep away the Hellhound, and I'll go to the crossroads to summon the demon."

"Summon the demon? Have you gone insane? Why would you do that?" Mia exclaimed.

"If I can trap it, I can exorcise it, and that'll buy us some time," He told her.

"Yeah, but how much time? How long does it take a demon to crawl out of hell?" Sam questioned.

"No idea, but it should give us enough time."

"I don't like it," Mia mumbled.

Dean sighed in frustration. "Well unless you've got a better plan, Princess, this is the best we've got."

Sam agreed with Mia, "I don't want you doing this, Dean. I don't like where your head's at right now. You've been acting out ever since we found that crossroads and I think I know why."

Dean rolled his eyes. "We don't have time for this, Sammy."

"It's Dad," Sam told him, "You think Dad made a deal with the demon for your life? Hell, I've been thinking about it too."

At hearing those words, Mia shrank into the corner. She had promised John she wouldn't tell them the truth but she didn't think they'd figure it out on their own. Her heart began beating so loudly that she became afraid the boys could hear it too. More than anything, she didn't want Dean to find out the sacrifice his father had made for him, because she knew it would wreck him.

"It fits," Dean told his brother sadly, "my life for his soul. He must've struck a bargain with The Demon.

Mia spoke up, "Even if he did, we can't worry about this now, that Hellhound is going to be here any minute."

"I'm going, take care of him," Dean called to his brother and Mia as he took off towards the front door.

Sam turned to the nervous-looking brunette who was clutching at her necklace. "Go with him," He instructed.

"What?"

"I don't like his state right now. I need you to watch him while I take care of Evan," Sam told her.

Mia agreed and took off after Dean. She luckily made it to the Impala just before he began to back out of the driveway.

"What? I told you to stay with Sam and Evan," He exclaimed as she quickly jumped into the passenger seat.

"Yeah, well Sam told me to stick with you, and since you haven't exactly been yourself during this case, you're my top priority," She shot back.

Dean groaned but nevertheless, gunned the engine for the crossroads.

They were there within five minutes. Dean grabbed one of the demonology books that Bobby had lent them and began drawing a devil's trap on the eastern side of the crossroads. He traced the various symbols with Mia's direction.

"No, that line does a zigzag, not a squiggle," She told him as she consulted the book.

Dean sighed in frustration but erased the chalk line with his sleeve and continued drawing.

"So, what exactly is the plan to trap the demon, again?" Mia asked for clarification as she leaned against the Impala, which was parked a few feet away.

Dean spoke without looking up at her, "I'm gonna park the Impala over the symbol. Then you're gonna hide up in that water tower over there with the exorcism book. I'll go summon the demon at the crossroads and bring It over to the car. Once It's inside, start the exorcism."

"What if It sees the trap?"

"It's not going to see the trap."

Mia stared at him, "Dean, the Impala isn't exactly big enough to cover that circle. Chances are, this demon is gonna see it."

Her friend groaned in irritation as he finished the trap. He walked over to her and gave her the piece of chalk so she could put it away for him. "It's not going to see the trap, don't worry about it. Now, I'm almost done so go get into position."

The young girl rolled her eyes as she stumbled over to the water tower muttering what a great birthday today had turned out to be. She glanced over to where Dean was getting ready to move the Impala over the trap.

"It's never going to work," She muttered to herself. Dean wasn't thinking rationally, the news about his father had shaken him. Mia looked at the small water tower. Just above the ground, there was a space that people could easily walk under. Mia remembered when Bobby had drawn the devil's trap on his ceiling to trap Meg and decided to draw one on this ceiling, just in case Dean's idea failed.

She quickly opened the book and grabbed the piece of chalk Dean had given to her and traced the trap. By the time she finished, Dean was walking over to the crossroads and hadn't seen her draw the symbol. She climbed up the small structure and sat on top. Her position gave her an advantage as she could clearly see the crossroads but no one at the crossroads could see her unless she moved. With the demonology book tucked beneath her arm, the huntress waited patiently.

She watched as Dean unearthed the summoning box and put his picture inside before re-burying it. In seconds, a brunette with ruby-red eyes and a black dress materialized in front of him. Mia nearly fell off the tower in surprise. The crossroad demon had shown up rather quickly...

The demon and Dean talked and Mia watched as he slowly led her over to his car as they chatted. She held her breath. Maybe Dean's plan would work. But she'd been right all along. The demon did notice the trap and began cursing Dean out for trying to fool her.

He looked terrified that his plans had fallen through and Mia waved him over. The demon was facing away from the tower and continued to chew Dean out as Mia tried to signal to him that she'd placed another devil's trap under the water tower but he didn't seem to understand what she was trying to say. She pointed down at the tower and then waved him over again.

Dean figured Mia probably just wanted to start the exorcism without the trap and he decided that since it was hopeless enough, he'd go along with it. The demon was still rambling about hell and he didn't listen until she'd said one word that would always grab his attention. "Father."

"What did you say?" He demanded.

The demon sneered, having hit the bullseye on how to manipulate Dean Winchester. "I said; you blew it, Dean. I could've given you your father back."

The hunter stared at the demon in astonishment. "You-you can do that?"

She smiled sinisterly. "Of course, but I'm sorry, you ruined everything. Then again, that's just what you do, isn't it? You ruined your family because your daddy had to die for you. That's right, he made the deal. I could've given you what you need, but I don't think I will. You deserve to be miserable. You deserve to wake up every day and think to yourself, 'I can't do this anymore,' because it's all your fault. Well, goodbye."

She walked away, in the opposite direction of the tower. At this point, after having heard the awful things she'd said to Dean, Mia just wanted to tackle the demon from the tower but Dean spoke up, having noticed the devil's trap Mia had drawn on the ceiling of it.

"Wait…"

The demon grinned and turned around to face him. "You're lucky I have a weakness for puppy dog faces. Besides, I know you didn't call me here to save Evan, you know what you really want."

"You could really… bring him back?" He asked as he backed into the area under the water tower. The demon followed him, grinning menacingly.

"I can let him live the life he was meant to, and I'd give you ten years as a bonus. You could all live together as one happy family. You, your dad, Sammy, and even little Mia. Oh, you do know your daddy told her that he made the deal?"

Mia froze. How did the demon even know that?

Dean was shocked as well. His expression turned from desperation to complete and utter disbelief.

"Ah," the demon taunted. "I take it she didn't tell you. Poor Dean, you must feel so betrayed… Getting back to our deal…" She stopped and noticed Dean's eyes flicker to the ceiling. Hers followed and she groaned angrily when she noticed that she was trapped.

"Dean!" She cried in anguish.

Mia took that as her sign to leap down from her hiding spot and begin the exorcism, but before she could start reading, Dean held out his hand to stop her.

"Call off your Hellhound and let Evan go, then I'll let you go," Dean promised.

"I can't break a contract, that's bad business," The demon explained, as she gazed at Mia in surprise.

Dean rounded on her. "Then I can't stop Mia from sending your ass back to hell. It's your choice. Give Evan and his wife a long happy life together, or say goodbye."

The demon remained silent.

"Do it," Dean said through gritted teeth.

Mia began her recitation, "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio, infernalis adversarii-"

"OKAY! I'LL DO IT!" The demon shrieked. She reached out for Dean and pulled him into a deep kiss.

"What the hell was that?" Dean demanded when he pulled away.

"To seal the deal," she explained. "Now, let me out."

Mia glanced over at Dean for a sign to continue the exorcism but his eyes refused to meet hers. The demon sighed in exasperation.

"You're double-crossing me? Seriously? Well, I hope you know that if you do go through with sending me back to hell, I will crawl out and the first thing I'll do is kill Evan and his wife, then I'll kill you, your brother, and Mia," She threatened. At the last name, she glowered at Mia, as though daring her to go through with the exorcism.

"Let her go," Dean uttered in defeat.

Mia stepped up and used her sleeve to brush away part of the circle. The demon grinned at her and walked away from the tower. She then stopped and turned around to face Dean.

"You wouldn't pull stunts like that if you knew where your daddy was. The place is called Hell for a reason, after all. I bet it would break your heart to hear how he screams in pain," She antagonized.

Dean glared at her. "Shut up, bitch."

"And it's all your fault," She continued, getting delight out of causing him pain.

Mia had heard enough. She started the exorcism again and that gave the demon the motivation it needed to fly out of her host's body in a cloud of black smoke.

The confused young woman the demon had been inhabiting wandered back to the bar, convinced she was probably drunk. Sam called his brother and explained to him and Mia that the Hellhound had retreated after a while. Also, that goofer dust did work when he used a ring of it to protect Evan from the Hellhound but eventually, the dust was no match for the invisible dog. Dean told him the deal he'd managed to strike with the demon and that they would be over to pick him up in a few minutes.

Dean put away his phone and turned to Mia who felt wary of what he was going to say to her.

"So, what that demon said about my dad telling you that he made the deal, is that true?" He asked.

"Dean-"

He interrupted, "Is it true?"

Mia felt her hands shaking in fear. "Yes. He told me about it just before Sam found him."

Dean's green eyes filled with pure rage. "So, you lied to me. To me and Sam."

"There was nothing I could do. He'd already struck the deal when he told me," Mia defended.

"But why didn't you tell us? You knew we were trying to figure out how he died. Hell, this whole case has been more helpful in finding that out than you've been," He declared.

"He, he made me promise not to tell either of you. I think-"

"No, Mia. You didn't think. You let Sam and me believe a lie, and that's as bad as a betrayal in my books… I trusted you," He seemed to be fuelled by fury.

"Please, Dean. I'm sorry, you're right. I should've told you, I just didn't want you to blame yourself. You were already so torn up about his death, and I think he wanted to spare your feelings too. John wouldn't want-"

"Don't you dare tell me what my dad would've wanted! You never knew him like I did. He wasn't your father, and you aren't part of this family. You will never be part of this family. I don't want to hunt with you, anymore!" Dean snapped, his voice increasing in volume as he went on.

Mia felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was so heartbroken by his words. She hadn't meant any harm in concealing the truth from Dean, she truly just didn't want him to suffer anymore, and after seeing his reaction to the demon confessing the truth to him, she stood by her actions. She cared about him and Sam, and she didn't want them to suffer any more than they needed to.

The next few minutes passed in a blur of tears. Mia tried her best to hold her composure and keep herself from crying in front of Dean as they drove to pick up Sam from Evan's house.

Evan thanked them profusely and said goodbye. Dean drove into the night while Mia tried to get some sleep. She awoke a few hours later to hear Dean tell Sam about her lie to them. She kept her eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep in the back while she listened to their conversation.

"She lied to us, Sam," Dean whispered harshly. "What more do you want?"

Sam had taken the news less personally than his brother. He understood exactly why Mia had withheld the truth from them and although he was a little upset that she never told him, he got why she didn't tell Dean.

"Dean, I think you're overreacting. She made a promise to Dad on his deathbed, you can't be angry with her over that."

"Can't I? Sam, I don't want her hunting with us anymore, in fact, I never did. I don't want to work with someone I can't trust to back me up," Dean replied angrily.

Sam turned to face his brother in astonishment. "Can't trust to back you up? Really, because she's been behind you for longer than I can remember. In fact, wasn't it her who drew the backup devil's trap? If it wasn't for her, I'm pretty sure you would have actually made the deal with the demon. She isn't going anywhere. She's a valuable asset and she's my friend."

Dean stared at the road ahead of him. He was furious with Mia for lying to them, and now he was pissed at Sam for not being angrier with her. What he didn't understand at the time, but what Mia knew, was that he wasn't actually mad at her. Not really. He was angry with himself and with his father for sacrificing himself. But he didn't know how to deal with these emotions; to feel anger towards someone he'd loved and admired all his life. So he was taking this anger out on Mia and she decided she would have to just deal with it.

She rolled over so that her head was facing the ground of the car. In the corner, by the back of the driver's seat, she saw her purse with the brand new gun Dean and Sam had bought her for her birthday, sticking out.

What she wouldn't give to go back to that morning when they were so happy and oblivious. Before they had learned the truth of John's sacrifice. Mia thought about Dean, and how much progress they'd made as friends. She actually thought he might respect her, just as she respected him, but now he didn't even want to see her, let alone be friends with her. He was right, she would never be a real part of their little family, and she'd been an idiot to think that she ever could.

Mia finally let the tears fall from her eyes.

A/N: Well that was a rather emotional chapter... Dean is pissed at Mia but don't worry, it won't be for too long! Thank you, guys, so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows; you guys are honestly the best! I'll try to update as soon as I can!

Next Chapter: Dean, Sam, and Mia encounter a mysterious demonic virus with ancient origins.