"So what do you think it is?" Dean asked, going through the article for the third time after taking another sip of his beer.

The hunters had drove for hours to get to the possible new hunt. For the past few months, people had been disappearing in this previously safe little town. There were no signs of break-in, or struggle. They'd simply vanished into the night.

"I don't know." Alina replied, sitting in front of him with her arms crossed. She'd quickly checked her surroundings once they'd entered the local bar, and definitely didn't like the place. "But I think we should go see the latest victim's house tonight."

"Tonight?" Sam was surprised by her proposition. "You mean you wanna break in?"

"Why not? There are no neighbors around the house, the police's done investigating the place, and we know there'll be no one inside. It won't take us more than half an hour to check the whole house."

The brothers shared the same astonished look. She'd obviously done her researches. "Okay." Dean finally agreed. "Let's just wait for a couple more hours. Make sure we don't get spotted on our way there."

"Fine by me."

Alina then kept looking around her, giving Sam the opportunity to stare at his brother expectantly. The Winchesters had an entire discussion with that simple and short eye contact. Obviously the youngest wanted Dean to start the conversation with Alina, try to get a little closer to her, but the eldest was hesitant because he had no idea of what he was supposed to do or say in this kind of situation. Flirting wasn't a new thing for him, but he was used to flirt with women who'd end up in his bed afterwards. That wasn't the plan with Alina. How could he flirt with her, without sounding like a total jerk?

But Sam's glances kept pressuring him until he eventually cleared his throat and turned to the girl with a shy smile. "So Alina...uh...let me buy you a drink while we wait."

"No thanks." She instantly refused, still looking at the place. "I never drink, I rather stay lucid, especially when I'm working on a case."

That was another thing she didn't share with the Alina they knew. And although Dean seemed pretty beaten up by that answer, Sam just kept insisting for him to continue. Which made the hunter roll his eyes before he turned to Alina once again.

"That's smart. Yeah...so...you wanna play darts?"

He tried to keep his soft grin when Alina finally put her full attention back on him, with a suspicious look on her face. She'd noticed his embarrassment pretty soon, and knew what this was about. "Are you trying to flirt with me?"

"What?" Dean acted innocently. "No! I mean...I was just..." He was completely lost between Alina waiting for him to finish his answer, and Sam's eyes telling him to admit everything. And he quickly got tired of that little game. "Hey Sam? Why don't you go get us another round?"

Sam didn't want to leave in the middle of it. He didn't trust his brother to handle this by himself since Alina was still wary of him, and Sam was the only reason she hadn't killed him in that motel room. But he also knew that his presence wouldn't help them getting closer. They'd shared multiple moments without him during these past months that had led to them getting together. He needed to give Dean a chance, so he nodded after a short time and stood up. "I'll be right back."

"Yeah, take your time little brother." Dean gave him a fake warm smile that Alina noticed but didn't pointed out once Sam was gone. The two hunters watched him go to the bar and sit there, waiting for the barman to come take his order.

"Okay, look..." The eldest sounded more confident now that they were officially alone, and he wanted to be quick just in case his brother decided not to take his time. "Yeah I was flirting with you. Sam and I, we just thought that maybe...it would be a good way to remind you of who I am."

Alina sighed with an amused smile. "So...that's how you seduced me the first time? With a beer and a game of darts?"

"Well...I don't really know how I did it to be honest with you."

The young woman, who was pretending to be interested in that conversation up until now, found herself really captivated by this answer. "What do you mean?"

Dean chuckled faintly. "I've never been able to see myself the same way you could see me. I mean, you're always talking about how brave, and loyal, and selfless I am, and yeah when it comes to the people I care about like you and Sammy, I guess I could do anything to protect you guys. But sometimes...I just wonder how you can see so much good in me."

Alina couldn't explain the sudden urge she had to make him stop talking about himself like that. She didn't even know him, and he was already giving her all the reasons to be more suspicious of him. If it was anyone else, she would've left this bar the moment Sam had left them alone. So why was she still listening to him? Why did she feel so...drawn to him, if she knew she shouldn't trust him?

"That's funny actually, 'cause we used to flirt a lot even when we thought we were nothing more than friends. Sam would get mad and tell us to stop, but...things just felt so easy with you."

The young woman's heart was beating so fast. The more she looked and listened to him, the more she felt something that she'd never felt before. That strange feeling...what could it be?

"Hey you okay?" Dean called her the moment he realized he'd been talking way too much. She was silent, and the way she was staring at him absently made him worry.

What had just happened to her? She couldn't let her guard down so easily, even if he was Sam's brother, he was still a stranger to her. But still... "Yeah I'm fine. I'm just not familiar to that kind of place so...I don't know how to play darts."

Dean tried not to show too much surprise when she said those words, but he just had to smile at her. "I could teach you." Of course, the Alina he knew was an expert at the game, and had even used that ability for their scams more than once. But he was too happy to think about that detail right now.

She faintly smiled at how excited he looked. She'd just agreed to play darts with him after all. It was kinda cute. "Only if you keep your hands to yourself." She stood up from her chair. "Let's do this, Winchester."

She didn't realize what she'd just said, but Dean completely froze at her words. "What did you call me?"

She simply shrugged, confused by his reaction. "I'm still trying to register that you're Sam's brother so I thought I'd call you 'Winchester' to remember. If you don't like it..."

"No no no. You...it's perfect."

"Great. 'Cause you didn't let me finish when I was gonna say that I didn't care anyway, so..." And she smiled at him before she started walking towards the darts board.

Sam came back with two more beers, while Dean was still standing next to the table, watching her walk away with a stupid grin on his face. For a moment there, it almost felt like she was back to her usual self. And that was amazing.

"You're going or what?" Sam asked after a few seconds of his brother not moving from his spot.

"What...right. Definitely. I'll go."

Sam watched his brother almost running to join Alina in front of the darts board, and seeing them together made him smile proudly. He didn't know what Dean had told her to make her change her mind, but it'd worked.

LATER

"So what's the MO here again?" Dean asked as the three hunters were walking throughout the dark hallways of the big house. The last victim appeared to be quite rich, and investigating the whole place would probably take more time than they'd thought it would. Dean was holding the EMF Meter, Sam had the night vision camera, and Alina the shotgun. She'd felt safer being the one carrying the weapon.

"Six people went missing in just four months. The only thing they all had in common is that the next victim always knew the previous one. Cops thought the first two victims were just a coincidence, that they'd left town since there weren't any signs of struggle or break in. Clothes, jewels, even money...everything was still there. But then the third one disappeared in the exact same way, and the fourth...and here we are today with our sixth victim."

Alina flashed her light at the big painting above the fireplace, of a man in his fifties, wearing an elegant suit and a firm expression. "Andrew Gates went missing three days ago."

"So he knew the fifth victim, right?" Sam concluded.

"Yeah. He owns multiple places in town and he used to be her landlord before she went missing three weeks ago."

Dean stopped next to Alina, taking a look at the painting with a grimace. "Rich people really need to learn not to waste their money."

Alina faintly smiled, quickly getting her serious back once Dean's gaze turned to her. She cleared her throat and left to join Sam near the large couch. "So you guys got anything?"

"Nothing on the camera."

"Yeah nothing on the EMF either. Doesn't mean there's no case here, though."

Sam frowned at his brother's statement. Of course he wouldn't leave so easily when Alina was the one who'd found this potential hunt.

"If all the victims are linked somehow, it shouldn't be hard to find the next one. We'll interrogate people tomorrow, let's find a motel and get some sleep."

LATER

Dean woke up in the middle of the night, confused not to feel Alina's sleeping body next to him on the bed. It took him a short moment to remember the current situation, letting his hand fall on the empty space before he turned around to find his brother, sleeping in his own bed…alone. Alina wasn't there either, and her absence made Dean sit up in panic, to search for the girl in their motel room. He was about to shout and hit his brother to wake him up, so they could both search for the missing hunter, until he noticed that the bathroom door was ajar, with some light coming from there. The faint sounds of someone typing on a keyboard in the room made Dean let out a huge sigh a relief.

The hunter jumped off his bed and walked towards the door to slowly push it. The moment he saw Alina sitting on the bathroom floor with Sam's laptop on her lap, the gun she was pointing at him made him raise his hands instantly. "Woah don't shoot. It's me. Dean? Winchester?"

Alina kept her weapon pointed at him for two or three more seconds, then slightly chuckled and put it back on the ground next to her. "Old habits."

"Yeah no problem…" Dean took a glance at his brother to make sure he was still sleeping, then closed back the door behind him so he wouldn't get disturbed by their conversation. "What are you doing?"

"Researches." She had her eyes on the screen in front of her, resuming her typing on the keyboard.

"'Cause you can't sleep?"

"I don't need to sleep."

"Come on, everybody needs to sleep."

"Then I guess I just don't want to."

She was still staring at the laptop, but when she realized that Dean had been silently standing in front of her for a while now, she decided to look up at him impatiently. "Do you need something from me?"

"Me? No. But maybe I could help."

"Well there's only one laptop, so it really just takes one of us. You should go back to sleep, I'll try to be more discreet."

"Oh you didn't wake me up. I just…I can't really sleep like that."

"Like what?"

Dean scratched the back of his head nervously. He felt like a teenager all over again, and he wasn't used to being so nervous around a woman. "Well…I sleep better when you're next to me. You told me you could predict my nightmares and hold my hand whenever I was about to have one. It's stupid but I guess I got used to it."

Alina still didn't know why she felt so touched by his words, but she couldn't ignore every fibers of her body telling her to stay with him. It had to be her Empathy. Her mind couldn't remember him, but…something inside of her needed to be near him. She was probably the one being stupid right now, and she knew she'd regret that. "Well if you can't sleep, I don't see why you couldn't at least be useful. I just don't want Sam to wake up so if you wanna stay, you'll have to sit here and be quiet."

Dean's face lighted up once again at the proposition, and she didn't have to ask him twice for him to come sit next to her on the hard floor. She quickly looked at him, feeling somehow flustered by the proximity of their faces, and the way he was looking back at her with a soft smile. She didn't even realize that her eyes were so focused on his lips, until she met his and saw the amusement in them. That was definitely a sign that she had to break that eye contact.

"Just so you know…" She started, resuming her researches as if that embarrassing moment hadn't just happened. "If you fall asleep here, I won't hold your hand."

She heard him chuckle. "Deal."

A FEW MINUTES LATER

Dean had just finished reading another police report from the first disappearances. He was about to tell Alina to scroll the page, when he felt a weight suddenly falling on his arm. One look was enough for him to see her head resting on his shoulder, as she was now completely out. She did look exhausted, but he wasn't expecting her to fall asleep, knowing that she was completely alone with him. And Dean couldn't fight the urge to smile at that, happy to finally feel that warmth again, after two days that felt like an eternity without her. He wasn't sure whether or not she finally trusted him, but that was already a huge step that made him smile and close the laptop to also close his eyes, and relax with her. That bathroom floor surprisingly felt more conformable than his empty bed, and before he could realize it, he'd also fallen asleep with her.

THE NEXT DAY

"I'm just saying, you guys looked adorable." Sam teased the two hunters getting out of the car. He'd found them sleeping next to each other on the bathroom floor earlier in the morning.

"Shut up Sammy." They both said in chorus, Dean with a proud smile, Alina with an ashamed red face. She couldn't believe she'd let her guard down so quickly last night. She'd never fell asleep next to a stranger in her life, especially with a gun just a few inches away from them. What was she thinking? That was stupid. She was stupid.

"Could we just focus on that job, please?" Alina scolded her best friend before walking away from him and his brother, both stupidly smiling at her behavior. She didn't want to talk about this now. Or ever.

Once they got there serious back, they started questioning people around town. They had to split up to cover as many witnesses as possible, but even after hours of investigation, they eventually got to the last house with no useful informations. Andrew Gates was a generous but solitary man. He'd even helped some of his tenants if they were unable to pay their rent.

"So I'm sure you have a theory on the missing people case, right?" Sam asked the man standing in front of them, taking care of his garden. He was the only person left to interrogate and they really needed to get something new.

"Well I wouldn't say that, but it's definitely affecting everyone and that's a shame. I mean, I grew up in this house, got married in the local church…my neighbors are my closest friends. I didn't think something like that could happen in our little town."

"Of course." Alina replied with less patience in her voice than Sam. She didn't want to waste any more time, in case Andrew Gates, or any of the previous victims were still alive somewhere. "We know you were one of Andrew's associates. Did you notice anything weird in his behavior before he went missing?"

The man didn't even need to think before giving his answer. "No listen, I've spent the last days trying to think about anything that could help the police investigation. I didn't notice anything…except for his pen."

"His pen?" The hunters all repeated in a same voice.

"Yeah, he had that pen that he'd carry with him everywhere. He wasn't a superstitious guy, this pen was just a gift from his old man and he said it was out of respect for him that he always used it to sign his business decisions."

"So what about the pen?" Alina once again asked hurriedly, ignoring the brothers' looks begging her to be more subtile.

"Well two weeks ago, I saw him using an ordinary pen for a very important contract. I was surprised so I asked him about it, and he told me the pen had been stolen."

"Why would someone steal a pen?" Dean continued the interrogation.

"Probably because it was made out of white crystals and silver."

The hunters shared the same knowing look as the man went back to his gardening. A silver pen. That was an interesting detail…

They were ready to leave and continue their investigation somewhere else, when a car stopping in the driveway grabbed Alina's attention. No matter what the brothers would say to her, she couldn't take her eyes off that car and the woman getting out of it.

"Oh here's Delia." The man told them as he stood up and waved at her. "Hey honey."

"Hey baby!" The woman replied with a smile, walking straight towards him to pull him into a passionate kiss.

The Winchesters slightly smiled, looking away in embarrassment, but Alina was still staring at the woman. Yes she looked absolutely stunning with her long wavy red hair, her expensive clothes, and the perfect makeup she had on her face. But…something felt off about her. The hunter knew that feeling, and couldn't leave until she'd confirmed her suspicions. She cleared her throat so the couple would separate from each other and turn to her, giving them her biggest fake smile.

"Oh honey, these people were hired by Andrew's family. They're investigating his disappearance and wanted to know if we knew anything that could help them."

"Really? Oh we were so shocked to learn about it. All these missing people…I think it's so scary. Isn't it babe?"

Yes, something definitely wasn't right with that person. She was acting all innocent and scared, but Alina could see right through her, thanks to her Empathy. She wasn't looking at her husband with love, it was pure satisfaction. Still, Alina didn't flinch and looked down at the left hand she'd put on her husband's chest.

"I'm sorry, I thought you guys were married but I don't see a ring." The hunter pointed out like she was simply making conversation. He'd mentioned getting married in the local church after all. And Delia's sudden uneasiness made her look even more strange, especially when she instinctively put her hand in the pocket of her pants, as if she wanted to hide it.

"Right." She kept smiling, turning to her husband. "Look…I took it off at the spa this morning, and when I got back to the car it wasn't in my bag anymore. The employees told me they would be looking for it but…I'm sorry babe."

Her husband clearly was upset, but tried not to show it, reassuring her by putting a soft kiss on her forehead and rubbing her back affectionately. He wasn't wearing a ring either, but he'd probably took it off to work in the garden. Alina didn't need to see his anyway…

"Maybe someone stole it." She said, mimicking Delia's innocent tone. "Like Andrew's pen. Was your ring made out of silver too?"

The death stare she instantly got from the elegant woman, was more than enough to confirm her theory, even if her husband hadn't answered, not realizing the situation.

"Actually yes it was. Maybe we should report it to the police honey."

"No it's okay baby." 'Delia' also put her arm around her husband to get closer to him, while she was sharing a not so warming look with Alina. She knew she'd somehow been spotted, but she didn't know how or why that could've happened.

"Well I think we got all the informations we needed here." Alina announced with a big grin, until she completely turned to Dean and Sam with a serious look on her face. "Let's go."

The two hunters gave the little couple one last polite smile, then followed the third one to the car. The moment they got inside of the Impala, Alina asked Dean to drive away and find a near hidden spot to observe the house from afar.

"So you're gonna share your theory with the rest of the class?" Dean eventually questioned her once the car was parked in the perfect spot. "What was that all about?"

"There's something wrong with that woman."

"Like what?"

"I don't know…" She was frustrated not to be able to give them more than that. "I just felt it, she was…strange."

"So you think she could be the one responsible for all the disappearances?" Sam tried to support her, even though he had as many questions as his brother going through his mind.

"Well one thing's for sure, she didn't just lose her ring at the spa, and Andrew's pen wasn't just stolen. Let's just wait here and see what her next move will be."

And while the Winchesters were still trying to find a good explanation to all of this, they couldn't refuse her request. They even shared a knowing look, agreeing to do as she'd said and stay here to check her theory. At least until nightfall.

LATER

Alina, who'd kept her eyes on the house until now, was finally turning to her best friend on the back seat when she realized he was now asleep. His head was resting on the window, and his mouth was slightly open. He looked cute when he could simply take a moment and relax like that. It only took her a few seconds to notice Dean next to her. His head also resting on the window, in the exact same position as Sam, his arms crossed in front of him, and to Alina's surprise his peaceful face started to turn into a frown. Was he having a nightmare? Was she supposed to do something? Why did she care about it so much?

She wanted to put her attention back on the house, for the sake of the case, but her hand started to move before she could even think about doing something. What was she doing? Was she reaching out for his hand? She couldn't do that! She shouldn't! And yet…

She was relieved when a faint sound made her stop her madness. And it was even better since Delia's car was the one leaving its driveway right now.

Alina didn't hesitate to hit Dean's arm multiple times to wake him up. "Hey! Come on! We need to follow her, wake up!"

The boys woke up in a jump that the eldest had to ignore right away once he understood the situation. He started the engine, and tried to keep his eyes on the car they were now following across town. They didn't know if Delia had noticed them, but they still followed her track, leading them…to the cemetery.

Alina got out of the car with a faint chuckle. "It's never a nice beach in the middle of the day…"

Delia's car was already parked there, but there were no signs of the woman.

"Still don't believe she's suspicious?"

"So what do we do now?" Sam asked, still confused about the situation.

"Well I don't think all this silver disappearing was a coincidence. Whatever Delia is, she really doesn't want silver around her." Alina pointed out, thinking about what their next move should be. "Let's grab some weapons and split up to investigate the place."

Dean was about to agree with her plan, until he heard the last part. He watched her as she was already opening the trunk of the car to grab some silver bullets and a gun. "Okay wait…if you really wanna do that, I think we should split up in two groups."

"Why?"

"I don't know, just in case…"

He didn't want to leave her alone, especially when she wasn't herself. He knew he wouldn't be reassured to see her go without him, and he was glad when she eventually turned to him with her gun and a smile. "Alright. If you really insist, I'll go alone, you two can stay together."

And after one last smile, she left before they could stop her. She didn't look back at them even for one second. She entered the sinister place, carefully checking her surroundings with the gun in her right hand, and a flashlight in her left hand.

She'd been walking for a few minutes, when her phone started vibrating in her jeans, making her sigh once she saw the name on the screen.

"What?"

"Hey you okay?" Dean's voice sounded calm, relaxed, but even without knowing him Alina could easily picture the anxiety on his face. She wondered if Sam had really stayed with him or if they'd decided to cover as much ground as possible.

"It's been five minutes, Winchester. Are you always like that?"

"Like what?"

"Annoyingly overprotective?"

She could've sworn she'd heard him chuckle in the phone, and she couldn't know it was because of the words Dean had already heard the young woman say so many times before. She didn't remember him, but she was quickly getting to know him.

"Yeah it's not the first time you say that about me, Frenchy."

Alina frowned slightly at the name. He'd called her like that the first time she'd seen him. She was actually about to ask him about it, when she heard a sudden noise a little further away from her spot. She instantly stopped talking, or breathing, to try and hear any other sound.

"You still there?"

"Shut up." Alina was trying to concentrate and he was making it hard. However, even if she couldn't hear anything else, she knew the loud noise had to be coming from one of the mausoleums. That wasn't good news for her. "Shit…"

"What?! What's wrong?!"

"Jeez stop yelling like that!"

"Well don't scare me like that! This is exactly why I didn't want to split up in the first place!"

Alina rolled her eyes and stared back at the nearby mausoleum. The inside had to be even darker than the outside, but it wasn't her biggest fear right now.

Her silence once again alarmed the Winchester. "You sure you're alright?"

She didn't know him. Why would she tell him about that? It was so stupid after all…

"I…I think I heard something coming from a mausoleum. I'm gonna…" She started to walk towards it, but eventually stopped in her tracks and froze. "Yeah I should definitely have a look inside. I'm going to. It's just a mausoleum. A tiny, dark, mausoleum."

That lack of confidence definitely didn't sound like her. Something was wrong. She was scared.

"Come on talk to me, Alina. What's wrong?"

"Do you really wanna know, or is it you again trying to make me talk about my childhood to get your girlfriend back?" She still didn't trust him.

"Hey I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you to remember me right now, but I'm always listening if there's something you wanna talk about."

Alina slightly scoffed, not fully convinced by his words, but she somehow started to talk at the same time she started to walk towards the mausoleum. She didn't want to tell him, but she felt like she…needed it.

"Right…so I might be a little…claustrophobic…"

Dean had to stop for a moment, unable to believe her words. His Alina never had that kind of problem, so why would this Alina be…

"It's a stupid story from when I was 7. I was playing at the park with Sam, and that group of girls decided it would be funny to lock me up in one of those portable toilets."

That was even more shocking to Dean as he could perfectly remember that day. He'd even talked about it with Alina a few months ago when they were taking a break from a case in the Impala.

Alina, however, didn't know if she was shaking from fear, or from the cold night wind. Whatever the answer was, she had to keep moving. She was almost there, and it was kind of comforting to talk with Dean on the phone at this moment. "Yeah I remember they were laughing behind the door, saying that no one would ever come and find me. I also remember crying like an idiot, hoping they were wrong and that someone, anyone would…" That feeling…she could never forget that feeling. "But no one came. I spent an entire night inside that thing, until I eventually found a way out the next morning. I had to do it by myself, and…I guess I shouldn't have waited for someone to come and rescue me. I only need to trust myself or else I'll always be disappointed by others."

Dean was out of words. He'd found the answer, the crack in the barrier. That had to be the moment that changed everything for her, that taught her she could trust others. The hunter couldn't believe how such a basic move from him back in the days, had completely influenced her personality. He'd simply found her once, and had never stopped ever since that day. That was the key to fix the barrier. "Alina…"

"Wait…" The young woman didn't listen to what he had to say. She was too focused on the name written above the iron gate. "I think it's Andrew's family crypt. That can't be a coincidence, right?"

"Alina listen to me…" But Dean heard Alina's phone dropping to the ground before a sudden gunshot, and the sounds of a fight. "Alina?!" She wasn't responding anymore.

The young woman wanted to call for help, but she felt dizzy and couldn't even stand anymore. Everything around her was blurry, so she didn't even realize it when her body got dragged inside the mausoleum.

She finally opened her eyes completely once she heard the terrible sound of the iron gate being closed near her. "Wait…" She struggled to stand up, using the walls to locate herself in the complete darkness. Her jacket was gone, but she still had the lighter in the back pocket of her jeans.

She almost dropped it though, when she saw a figure sitting on the ground just a few inches away from her. She carefully walked towards it, recognizing the sleeping woman instantly.

"Delia?" She was covered in dirt, her wrists were tied and her mouth taped, but she was still breathing. Alina was about to try and wake her up when she saw something on the opposite side of the small room. Now the most chilling detail here wasn't the coffin, but that disgusting pile of skin, blood, and hair…

"A Shapeshifter."

"Alina?!"

The distant voice calling her name, made her forget about that detail for a moment, since it reminded her of where she was currently trapped. Why did that place look bigger from the outside?

"Dean!" She yelled back desperately.

"Dean!" She heard herself yelling a second time…but from the outside. "Sam! I'm right here!"

"Alina?!" Sam had seen his brother running like crazy across the cemetery during his own investigation, and hadn't hesitated to follow him, knowing what Dean's panic could only mean. His best friend was in danger.

The brothers rushed towards the mausoleum in front of which the third hunter was standing. She looked exhausted, but fine. "Are you okay?! What happened?!" They both asked in chorus, while Sam already had his hands on her shoulders to reassure her.

"I was right about Delia! She's a Shapeshifter!" She told them hurriedly.

"Wait no!" Alina shouted from the inside, confusing the brothers who were already talking with her outside. "She's the Shapeshifter! Get me out of here!"

The fake Alina gave them an amused look at the mention of these words. "Of course she'd say that. I trapped her there when she stole my gun, you still have yours?"

Sam and Dean shared the same suspicious look. They didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Come on…" Alina wanted to kick the door angrily, but she was starting to feel like there was no more air getting to her lungs. Was the room shrinking around her? "Guys please…" She felt tears rolling down her cheeks because she knew this would be it. She knew no one would come and rescue her just like no one did all those years ago. She was alone, again. She weakly fell to the ground and wrapped her arms around her legs. There was no point in trying to convince them…

"Come on, we need to kill that thing!" The fake Alina was still trying to make the hunters do her dirty job. Afterwards she'd probably kill them too, or…maybe she could keep pretending to be their friend. Steal her life just like she'd done it so many times recently. this couldn't be so hard with these two.

"Right." Dean nodded in agreement. "The key?"

"It fell off her jacket when we fought." She smiled in satisfaction and showed them the shinny object.

Sam didn't know what his brother was doing, since he still wasn't sure about who the real Alina was, but he decided to trust him anyway. Dean could never hurt Alina.

"Alright. I'll open the gate, Sam get ready to shoot her in the heart."

His little brother hesitantly obeyed, lifting his gun towards the entrance of the mausoleum. Dean took the key in Alina's hand and smiled at her, ready to walk towards the gate when he suddenly stopped and chuckled. "By the way, you left that in the car."

He took Alina's dagger out of his belt and handed it to her. "I told you it's really important to you. Don't forget it next time."

The fake Alina only had the memories of the current Alina, who couldn't remember the origins of that weapon. So the Shapeshifter only knew what the boys had said the day before about it, that it was a gift from her father. But she didn't know what it was made out of.

The moment she touched the blade, she let out a long scream as her hand was burning. The dagger fell, and the fake Alina took a step back to hold her injured hand with a groan of pain.

"Sam now!"

The Shapeshifter didn't even get the time to react. She only raised her head to see the gun being fired, and quickly fell to the ground with two holes in her heart. The brothers watched the body of the girl they cared so much for, disturbed by the vision, until Dean pulled himself together and rushed to the iron gate to unlock it.

Inside, Alina had looked up once she'd heard the scream and the gunshot, but she didn't know what was happening. She even crawled backwards once the door opened, and Dean entered the crypt with both his hands lifted in the air to show that he wasn't here to hurt her. "Hey it's okay. It's over."

She watched him in disbelief when he slowly crouched in front of her and smiled, offering her a hand. "I know how terrified you were as a kid, but even if you never remember me I'll keep finding you until you trust me again. So what do you say? You wanna get outta here Frenchy?"

Alina watched his hand, overwhelmed by the different emotions coursing through her mind. It was mostly positive emotions, but also a lot of confusion. Was he really here? Maybe she was just hallucinating. But what if she took his hand, and all of this was real after all? What if…

The young woman lifted her hand, still keeping it a few inches away from Dean's for a second or two, then finally took it. With a smile, Dean held onto it tightly and pulled her back up with him, wrapping his other arm around her to help her keep her balance. He was ready to leave with her, when he noticed the way she was staring at him with a frown.

She cupped his cheek with her free hand, and was hit by the familiar warmth she couldn't believe she'd forgot. His tight embrace, his soft gaze on her…the love and admiration she could feel from him through her Empathy…

"Dean…"

Sam's older brother, the little boy that always tried to get on her nerves by stealing her stuff when they were kids. The one who taught her how to trust and protect the people close to her. The one who'd made her love being a hunter. The one who always made her feel safe enough to sleep absolutely anywhere as long as he was there to protect her, hold her. He'd made her realize that no matter how messed up their world was, she also needed to have fun and act like a child sometimes. He'd done so much for her, and he was still protecting her even today. He'd saved her…because he'd always been her hero. Dean Winchester. That arrogant, sarcastic and flirty idiot she'd fell in love with.

Alina smiled at all the memories of him she was finally getting back, and the way she was now looking at him with love and tenderness, brought some doubts to his mind.

She noticed his hesitation and smiled at him, caressing his cheek with her thumb. "That was one of the hottest things you ever said to me Winchester."

Dean's eyes widened at her words. He couldn't believe what they could actually mean. "Wait…does that mean…"

She enthusiastically nodded with tears in her eyes. "Yeah…" She was so touched by the obvious relief on Dean's face when he smiled too.

She remembered.

Of course it didn't take too long after the confirmation, for the hunters' lips and bodies to collide. Dean was holding her like he was afraid to see her leave again. He was so happy to feel her against him, to kiss her, to grab her cheeks and pull her as close as possible. After she'd treated him like a total stranger for three days, she was finally holding onto the collar of his jacket like she always used to. She was back.

"Guys?"

And as usual, Sam interrupted this special moment they were sharing. For the first time, he actually felt terrible for doing it and wished he could've just gave them some space, but they had to hurry, and Alina understood why when she heard his voice coming from behind her, inside the mausoleum. She turned around and once again saw the woman's unconscious body against the wall. The youngest Winchester was crouching in front of her, checking her breathing and her pulse after taking the tape off her mouth.

"Shit, how is she?" Alina asked, rushing to join her best friend in front of the Shapeshifter's victim.

"She's alive but we need to get her to the hospital."

She helped Sam untie her wrists, smiling at the silver ring on Delia's left hand. However, Dean stopped his brother as he was already carrying her outside.

"Wait, you drop her to the hospital, Alina and I will to stay here."

"Dean…" Sam sighed. "I know you're happy to have her back but right now's not the time to…"

"Dude, shut up! We need to stay here to take care of the Shapeshifter's body! Unless you want people to find her in the morning and start asking questions?"

Sam took a quick glance at the Shapeshifter lying dead on the grass with two holes in her chest, and as Alina followed his gaze, she quickly felt nauseous at the sight. It was her, but…it was dead.

"Hey you okay?" Dean asked her, worried about her reaction. He'd already killed a Shapeshifter looking exactly like him, so he knew how disturbing the vision could be.

And yet… "I'm gonna need a new jacket." She walked out of the crypt with the brothers, grabbing her dagger just a few inches away from the dead body, smiling proudly at the weapon.

The brothers were glad to have her back, but they also had to think quickly. So the three hunters went back to the car so Dean and Alina could grab what they needed to get rid of the body from the trunk, and waited for Sam to drive away from the place. Leaving them alone, walking back towards the cemetery.

"You know one of us was more than enough to get that stuff." Alina pointed out halfway.

"Oh from now on, I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again, Frenchy."

They both smiled, and Alina quickly got closer to take his hand. Their fingers now intertwined, they kept walking normally towards the mausoleum, but the young woman still needed to say something before they started to take care of her evil twin's body. So once they reached the place, seeing the corpse a little further away from them, Alina stopped the hunter and made him turn to her completely with a curious look on his face.

"What's wrong?" He was concerned that she was starting to lose her memories again, that all of this had just been a temporary thing, but she reassured him with a big grin.

"Nothing. I just wanted to say…thank you."

"Come on, you don't need to thank me. I'm probably the happiest one to see you back to normal." He simply shrugged as a joke.

"No, it's not that. I mean…I am grateful for the way you so heroically saved me and brought me back to myself, but…I wanted to thank you for being a part of my life Dean."

The hunter's look softened at her words. "So you remember everything from that spell?"

"Not everything. It all felt like a weird dream. I have no memories of that fake life I was supposed to have lived without you, but knowing that I could've ended up like that if I'd never met you…" She couldn't believe all the things she'd said and felt as that other Alina. "When I think that I could've been so lonely and distrustful of any human being…I just feel lucky that I became the person I am today thanks to you."

Dean's smirk got wider. He was obviously the luckiest one, because he wasn't even sure he'd played such a big part in anyone else' life. She made him feel so important, and he wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to kiss her right now, and never stop, but she had to stop him before he even took a step closer.

"Okay, Sam's gonna kill us if we don't get rid of that body before he comes back. And I don't know about you, but he already shot me twice tonight so I really don't want him to get mad right now." She still put a quick kiss on his lips and winked at him before going back to the corpse.

She got her jacket back, even though there were now two little holes in it, and her gun that the Shapeshifter had thrown away in the bushes after their fight. The hunter sighed above her dead clone. "So she probably killed all those people to take their places, live their lives, until she'd meet another future victim and 'disappear' as the current one. She kept them alive somewhere hidden for a few days but…I think Andrew Gates has been dead for a moment now. The Shapeshifter couldn't use his silver pen, the same way he couldn't wear Delia's ring."

"You did a good job by the way, Frenchy. You spotted it almost instantly."

"So…you mean that I'm usually not that efficient?"

"What? No! No, I meant that…you know…you were…"

Alina scoffed at his panic. "Relax, you're right. But that's only because you're always distracting me with your goddamn pretty face Winchester."

Dean smiled at the return of her flirtatious tone. He'd missed that. Everything felt so much more natural now.

"By the way…why were you so bad at flirting back at that bar?" Alina teased him proudly. "I mean, you didn't seem so shy when you talked about my 'beautiful hidden mole' in front of Sam."

"Well you weren't as chatty as you are now! And it worked anyway, we played darts."

"Yeah…you know I let you win, right?"

"What? No you didn't! You didn't even know how to play!"

"I didn't. But throwing a tiny arrow is not that hard when you already know how to throw a machete properly."

The hunters shared the same smile, both staying silent at that, until Dean finally let out a soft chuckle. "Shut up Frenchy."

"Yeah…I've missed you too, Winchester."

LATER

The hunters were back on the road. They'd quickly emptied their motel room, and drove away to get as far as possible from town. They'd been discreet when getting rid of the dead body, and Delia had woken up not remembering anything from her time trapped in the mausoleum, but they still couldn't take any risk. They just felt bad for the victims' families who could never get closure.

Alina was sitting on the passenger's seat, next to Dean, and the hunter couldn't help but notice the way she'd been staring at her phone for the past ten minutes. "You still trynna think of how you're gonna explain your miraculous recovery to Elias and Marcus?"

"I should call them, right?" Alina's voice was hesitant. "They're probably doing all they can to find that witch. I can't let them worry about me any longer. And Marcus' gonna get married, he shouldn't be thinking about that kind of stuff right now. I can't even believe he's getting married to the doctor. I'm so happy for him, and I feel so bad for my initial reaction."

Sam, in the backseat, also smiled at his best friend's words. That was certainly the good old Alina speaking. "You weren't yourself Alina. I'm sure he'll forgive you."

"Yeah but…I don't think I should go. Not after Dean and Elias almost killed each other for that stupid spell."

"Hey! I was right about that guy still having feelings for you."

Alina would lie if she said that she didn't feel weird knowing that. She really wasn't expecting that from Elias since they'd broke up years ago. She'd completely moved on, and…she'd thought he'd done the same. Apparently he hadn't. But she didn't want to talk about that with Dean, so she went back to her joking tone.

"Need I remind you that your existence is the reason why I dated him in the first place?"

"That's not…"

Dean really wanted to protest, but she was right and it made him feel even more frustrated by the situation. Without him, Alina would've never been with Elias, or anyone else, but…she would've never got with Dean either afterwards. That whole thing was giving him a headache, while his little brother was laughing at him from behind.

"We'll call them tomorrow, you should get some rest."

Alina automatically yawned the moment she heard her best friend's advice. "You're right. I've got some sleep to catch up on. Wake me up when we get there."

She shoved her phone back in her bag, deciding that it would indeed be best to wait for her brain to be fully rested if she wanted to find a believable lie. She then put her head against the window and closed her eyes.

The boys watched her fall asleep quickly. They were so happy to see her feel so comfortable to sleep anywhere again, as long as they were here to protect her. They shared a relieved look through the rearview mirror, and Dean got his focus back on the road. He turned the volume of the rock music up, knowing this would help Alina sleep better.

Yes, Elias was still in love with Alina, but Dean didn't care about it anymore. Because he knew he was the only one on the young woman's mind now, and that just made him smile like a kid as he drove on the empty road, with his Alina by his side.

Okay I'm so proud of that original part, I really love it, but it took me soooo long to write it! I had to change so many things so many times, I don't even remember the initial plan!

So I hope you liked it, even though it wasn't part of the main storyline, but don't worry, we'll be back with 'Shadow' in the next chapter!

As usual guys, have a nice day/night and thanks for supporting my work, ily!