A/N: Takes place right after Shadow and the last chapter.

As she drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, she tried not to be mad. She really did. Mae wanted to shrug off the feeling that in the time between their phone call and the motel, something had changed for Dean. The notion was utterly stupid. The man was allowed to have doubts, she reminded herself. At any point, he could decide he no longer wanted anything with her. Even if less than a few hours ago he'd told her he loved her.

Well, she corrected, he said, 'love you' and it might have been completely unintentional. Still, he could call the whole thing off if that's what he wanted. There were lots of reasons he might have been cold to her. Even after weeks of phone calls and knowing they wanted to see each other again, it had been far longer since Dean had seen his dad. Maybe in that time, he realized that whatever they were doing didn't work if his dad was in the picture again. She supposed that she would rather know that now then after they went any further.

Whatever they were to each other had no labels and maybe it had run its course. The only certain thing was some kind of undeniable chemistry and connection existed between them. He had put up with all her doubts, all her hesitations and her outright fears. And he kept coming back for more. She owed it to Dean to find out if he was signalling that this was over or if she was reading into something that wasn't there.

Mae didn't want to let that one instance where she and Dean and John were in the same place at the same time to bother her. A lot had just happened, and they didn't have any chance to dig in to it. The situation called up all the previous doubt and discomfort she had. She thought it might have done the same for Dean. Or he was reacting to something else, dealing with other emotions that didn't have anything to do with her.

If, however, that was how things were going to be anytime Dean was with his father and she was around, she couldn't deal with that. She wasn't going to stand between Dean and his father. She didn't want to. If there was no middle ground, no getting back to their version of normal, then this really was a distraction from her work.

Her work. For the purposes of her work, she'd picked the wrong Winchester to follow. John had the answers she needed. Or rather, he was workin' on it. Mae wasn't sure what he had found or learned that made him think killing a demon was possible. If it was possible, what made him think he could lure this particular demon out with the express purpose of killing it.

But he seemed convinced. And, she reasoned, he must have thought this Meg girl had something to do with it if he came to Chicago. Dean hadn't mentioned anything about his father being there already, so Dean or Sam had to have called him at some point. Or John had already pulled together the details of this case and tied it back to demonic activity.

If Dean's call brought John there, that meant he had only been a few hours away too, if he got to the motel just before she did. So, who's trail was he following that brought him there. What were the chances that all four hunters had narrowed in to such a small radius of activity? Once again, Mae's thoughts swirled with the notion that this was bigger than any of them had dealt with before. But what? Who or what could be pulling the strings that seemed to make them dance? And why?

Pure paranoia, she decided. Vast demon conspiracy was hardly the simple answer. They were just missing pieces and once they had them, this would all make sense. She could rationalize her way back to sane or at least less conspiratorial. That just left her following taillights down back roads, avoiding the interstate, occasionally using a state highway until Dean signaled and they took an off ramp.

They drove, for about three hours, south east to Crawfordsville, Indiana. Dean pulled into a parking space in the nearest, cheap and possibly sleazy motel. Dean got out of the car and Mae did likewise. The weird part, she thought was that he signaled her to stay back before he made his way to the clerk's office.

She looked over at Sam as he exited the Impala too and they exchanged a questioning look. "Crawfordsville?" She asked.

Sam only shrugged. "You've got me. But we've probably put enough distance between us and Meg and the daevas."

Mae nodded, idly running the chain of her necklace of charms between her index and middle finger on one hand. "Yeah… you know, for a second, I thought maybe he was trying to track down the Crawfordsville monster...or something." It was a ridiculous conclusion considering what had happened and an absurd hope.

Smirking a bit, he brushed the hair out of his face. "You might think. You okay?"

The frown on her face said she had more than enough on her mind to find more than cursory humor in any of it. She didn't want to be 'that girl' focusing on quaint relationship issues but she couldn't stop herself. "He say anything to you on the way over? Or anything else… lately?"

He felt a little pang of sympathy for her, that expression on her face told him far too much about her feelings. She wasn't even trying to hide it. Sam supposed there could have been any number of things she meant, unfortunately for him he only had one answer and he shook his head. "No, we mostly just argued about leaving Dad, you know?"

Sam wasn't sure if she was expecting something else as he tried to asses her unreadable expression. "He's not wrong, Sam."

"Do you believe that? Because this whole life isn't safe and if he knows where to find this demon-"

"I get your side, I do. But," she sighed, "You don't know what you're going up against so diving into it without-"

"Of course, you'd side with Dean. You couldn't possibly understand." His temper flared. "I think we're closer to catching that son of a bitch that killed our mom, my girlfriend, than ever before. Don't you see that? We should be out there, looking for that demon, not here dicking around! Besides, if you don't like it, you can leave. This isn't your fight."

There wasn't much she could deny in his statement. The demon didn't kill her mother or her father. It didn't take anyone from her the way it did the boys. But there was something, she knew there was something, that tied her to this fight. If not this demon, then whatever their father knew. Sam and Dean were her friends too, family really. They needed each other still. "You don't know everything about me Sam. You aren't the only one who's lost-"

Dean walked up then, cutting whatever Mae was going to say short. Sam wanted to know whatever else she might say. He was geared up for a fight and she was a well-positioned target. But like always his brother drew her attention. She turned to Dean, taking note of the fact that he looked like hell. The three of them had to look damn near insane together. They were all bloodied and bruised, scraped and cut up. The boys had scratches and cuts all over their faces and while she hadn't looked at herself in the mirror, she knew she must have looked similar.

Wordlessly, Sam stormed towards Dean and snatched one of the keys out of his hands. He grabbed the bare minimum of his things and made his way to the room number indicated on the key ring.

"He's in a mood," Mae said offhandedly.

"Yeah well...he's been like this for hours now."

"It's kinda understandable."

"So, you think we should have gone with Dad then? I don't want to have the same goddamn fight with you Red."

"I'm not-"

"Because Meg was just using us to draw him out. I don't know what he's dealing with, but he's obviously pissed off the right people. But he's not going to win, and neither are we if we let ourselves get used."

Mae pressed a hand against his chest, a gesture he found insanely calming. He put his hand on top of hers. "I agree. I was going to say that, just that...when you're singularly focused on one thing like getting this demon... you lose sight of everything else around and being brought back to anything else..." she sighed, then winced as she turned to look at the room Sam had disappeared into, "it can be frustrating. I'm surprised he's put up with all these other gigs along the way."

His eye line trailed hers for a moment. "No, he's been a bitch about those too. But he's willing to admit we can save people along the way and we should. So," Dean began looking back down at her, "do you mind if I bunk with you. Otherwise I gotta listen to him huff and yell."

"He's your big, bad wolf now?"

"You wanna be my little red riding hood?" He tried to pull off a rakish look as he waggled his brows at her but knew he couldn't pull it off as well as usual.

"Does that make you my grandma?"

"I'm pretty sure the wolf that huffed and puffed was from the three little pigs."

"Eh, whatever grandma."

He smirked. "So, can I bunk with you?"

"Yeah, not? Thanks. You know, I could have paid for my own." She said as she took the room key from him.

"I'm not really paying either so...you still could get your own room."

"I'm...I get the feeling that even if I do, you'll find some way to mine, right?"

"You're not wrong."

The question of what would or could happen between them still hung in the air. So far, when they were together, they spent more nights sharing a bed than not. They were getting along better and while Dean knew she was a bit skittish about sex for some reason, she wasn't totally disinterested. Dean just had to figure out what would make her comfortable. Of course, the chances were slim that anything would happen between them right now given their current state.

Cleaning up and sleep might change things. Besides, they should probably lay low for a day or two, Dean thought. It might drive Sam nuts, but they needed to make sure they weren't being followed and regroup. They needed a strategy. Healing up would be good too since they looked as if they'd seen better days.

They both gathered their bags and anything else they thought they might need before they headed to their room. Inside however, Mae paused, causing Dean to bump into her. "So...did Sam get the room with two beds?"

"Would it make you feel better if I said yes?"

"You got two single rooms for the three of us?"

"I mean, not if you're willing to believe that Sam has the double."

"And if I had said you couldn't stay with me, you and Sam would have been happy to share a bed?"

"It was a calculated risk."

"Is Sam the big spoon or the little spoon?"

He rolled his eyes but still grinned. Gently, he bumped his hips against hers.

"Just get in." But once they were inside, he added, dropping his bags near the door after he let it close behind him. "Everyone likes being the little spoon."

She tried to stifle the pained grunt as she dropped her bags on the low dresser. Her side was bothering her more than she would have liked, especially since she no longer had the option to be in pain on her own. Dean watched her a while longer to see if she was more injured than he assumed. As she started to go through her bags, she didn't give him any sign that she was.

"So... today's been weird, right? I mean, between us, you know?"

Dean was right. Their rhythm faltered now that they were face to face again. The ease of their phone calls hadn't translated to their in-person conversations yet. Of course, they hadn't spent more than 15 minutes together. Maybe, Mae thought, things would normalize if they had more time. "For us, not really."

Tucking his hands in his pockets, he rocked on his heels. "C'mon, you were there."

"Yeah. It's late. Or early, I guess."

He wasn't sure why she had shifted back. Or maybe she never had. They'd chatted but not touched on anything serious yet. It might be better, he thought, to just drop it and go to sleep. But he couldn't. "Mae, I-I didn't expect you'd get hurt but you can't possibly be mad at me about this."

"Dude, I'm not mad. I'm not even that hurt. Just a little. But I'm not mad."

"You're not...you."

She looked back at him now. "I assure you I am me. I'm tired. And frustrated."

Biting the bullet, Dean decided to bring up what he thought was bothering her. "I didn't know my dad would be there. I called him but I-I guess I didn't think he'd really show up."

Mae sat down, trying not to wince at the pain in her side. "I'm not mad that your dad was there either. It's...it's good, that he showed up. I'm glad you got to see him. And yeah, it was awkward but considering the last time all three of us were in a room together..."

"So... what's with the attitude?"

"I wouldn't classify it as attitude. I'm...okay yes, I pictured us reconnecting a little different, particularly after all the calls. And, if I'm being honest, it did...I guess make me a little insecure. But you're obviously not of the idea that we should back off things, since you were planning on sleeping with me... or Sam, whoever drew the short straw, I guess. So, I can get over being...a dumb girl."

"What can't you get over?"

Now when she grimaced, it wasn't due to pain. "It's-complex."

"That's not an answer."

She sighed heavily. "Dean..." It was too deep a breath and she instinctively pressed a hand to her side.

In a heartbeat, Dean was by her side, kneeling in front of her and examining her expression. He spoke in softer, soothing tones now. "Hey, seriously, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm really fine. I think I just bruised my ribs."

"Let me look."

"I don't need you fussing over me. You don't look so great yourself."

"Then we'll check each other out."

She rolled her eyes and tuned her head away from him, but he caught the slight smile before she hid behind her hair. "You're incorrigible."

"I actually want to make sure you're okay, okay? I know this wasn't the plan. But uh, thanks for coming."

"I wasn't any help. I broke into your room and got thrown around."

"You couldn't have gotten her any sooner. I'm glad you're here all the same. Now, c'mon, strip."

"I do not need to strip to confirm that my ribs hurt."

"You know what I mean."

She knew the jokes and innuendo masked worry. He wouldn't push past a point if she was uncomfortable with it. Mae supposed the only way to get him to back down would be to let him confirm for himself that she was as healthy as she could be, given the circumstances. With a grumble, she shrugged out of her jacket and flannel shirt.

"Damn."

"What?"

Smoothing his fingers over the fabric of her tee-shirt, Dean didn't hide his frown. "That's a lot of blood."

Despite the burning twinge in her side at the motion, she raised her arm to glance down at her flank. She had indeed been bleeding through her shirt. There were some small but tattered punctures in the fabric. In addition to the blunt force of being thrown against the wall, she recalled the sharp bite of something into her flesh. It must have cut deeper than she assumed.

"Yeah. I guess so. I don't think I'm still bleeding though. How 'bout you?"

"Just cuts and bruises."

"Yeah, me too."

"But-"

"I am not the only one who has to strip in this situation."

His eyebrow twitched as he smirked at her. "Is that a challenge?"

"No, it's...you said we were both going to check each other out."

"Fine. You first."

Gingerly, she took her t-shirt off and watched Dean's eyes go wide for a second. "Oh please, this is hardly the first bra you've seen."

"Yeah, I was actually...babe, you have a giant bruise starting. It's not going to be pretty in a few days."

"I told you I bruised my ribs."

"Are you sure you didn't fracture them?"

"I didn't hear a crack or a pop. I'm not feeling a lot of other pain unless I move wrong or breath too deep."

"At least you don't need to breath or move."

"Shut up. Can you get me some ice?"

"Yeah, of course. You're type A enough to have some heavy duty first aid kit, right? We should get you wrapped."

"Actually, they say not to wrap ribs anymore. It can restrict breathing and make things worse. Ice and aspirin will help most right now. Plus, making sure you keep taking deep breaths and sleeping upright. So, you may want to consider who you're bunking with since I'll be sitting up and frozen."