Well…

Sam had been shoved back into…Sam. Dean's deal with death had gone through, though the king of reapers insisted that Sam not scratch the wall. His body, now soul as well, lay in Bobby's panic room while the three hunters spoke in private. The room felt oddly uncomfortable considering the familiarity between them. Family, and yet the air held a tension over the conversation of Sam.

And then, as if he had answered unspoken wishes, Sam appeared in the doorway. He looked… like any other day. Normal. Really she had an expectation that he'd never rise, considering the devilish things that hell most likely forced upon him. Allie stared with an expression of near disbelief while Dean stood to greet his baby brother.

Dean was, in a series of short words, a pessimistic man. He'd never received much in terms of normalcy and his life had been a string of harsh realities. He lived the best that he could with what he had, and he didn't have much at all to his name. However, seeing his younger brother walk through the threshold of a worn doorway had hope blossoming within him. They were a mirror of one another. Both men had now been to hell and back (officially). The knowledge forced a veiled note of despair to weave inside the older Winchester. That emotion didn't show on the forefront of war, but Dean did pull his younger brother in for a hug and offered some words of relief.

The second hug went to Bobby and the middle-aged man's face contorted into an appearance of concern mixed with confusion. Why? Because Sam was acting completely normal as if nothing had happened at all. Well, as if hell hadn't. That factor had the eldest hunter a bit distraught on the inside. How would they approach this?

Sam turned to the small blonde in the corner of the room. She looked… different. Her skin nearly appeared paler than it once had. Her body had pronounced itself as if womanhood had been blessed upon her by Aphrodite. Her hips had widened slightly and there was an… exhaustion to her face. Hazel eyes roamed over his old friend and Sam attempted a small smile, hoping she'd offer one back and they could touch. Considering previous occurrences between them, Sam now felt obligated to pause for consent. "Duck…" He propositioned and moved slightly closer, using her old nickname as a method of peace. The woman looked whiter than a ghost.

The look in her eyes must have signified something strong because they dilated and widened, taking on that of a baby deer in search of serenity at a creek in the warming sun. The light had arrived and darkness faded. "Sam…?" A whimsical croak, almost like she had been witnessing when humans first landed on the moon. Disbelief alongside pure yearning. He looked good, healthy even. That smile could melt polar icebergs. It certainly melted her insides into a pile of appreciative goo.

And then, in mere seconds, she was running to him with a velocity that should have belonged to an all-star track champion. Allie flung herself at the youngest Winchester, uncaring how it most likely appeared to Dean or her father. Summer had begun once again and the warmth filled her veins until the glow permeated her every action and each small wrinkle under her eyes from smiling so deep and true.

All of them together again! What could be sweeter? Even if they needed to work out some things. "I love you so much, I missed you so much." The words damn near flung out of her at the same speed as the Millenium Falcon.

I love you so much, I missed you so much. The words rang in his ear canal while Sam gripped his tinier counterpart and lifted her off of the floor in a vulnerable embrace, bringing her up in the air and squeezing her so tight that her back started to crack. He could nearly feel the tension leave her body in his own. Bobby and Dean had shared their own words of kindness, of course. But Allie so openly expressed her care for him. She expressed it despite everything that had happened between them and apocalypse be damned, he loved her too. He loved everything about her. Her words made him feel like… the world would turn and they had time.

"I love you too, Alls," Sam spoke gently into her cheek with reverence.

He didn't remember a lot. He wasn't sure how he was alive or there but he did remember a few… gorey details. They came nearly instantly and Sam had to force his eyes open to avoid seeing the memories behind his eyelids. Lucifer had… her body… the ripe and terrifying image of blood hanging out of her mouth from long trails of spit, in death. "You're alive," He murmured and gripped her tighter, feeling soft flesh just under her tank top beneath his fingertips. A hug from Allie was nearly the best thing on earth, mainly because when she did it she didn't hold back and it felt like you were being hugged by someone that wanted you to remember it.

"Cas…" She spoke as they eventually parted. It was the same for all of them. Bobby and herself…Cas had been brought back by God as well. Maybe a higher power was watching out for them but Allie struggled with that idea. What if the divine being just wanted them for another human checkers game? Snakes and ladders. They were constantly trying to climb but never really getting anywhere.

The presence of Death's warning led Allie, Dean, and Bobby to agree on withholding the truth from their dearest. Maybe sometimes lies could be justified?

At least, that's what she told herself.

Still, being around him after was tough. Lying in such a context didn't come easily and Allie often found herself wondering if they were doing the right thing. It seemed that no matter what choice they made… something could go terribly wrong. They were akin to rats stuck on an endless wheel, always running, never resting.

And yet the guilt faded somewhat as Sam returned nearly instantly to his prior state. That gentle demeanour and kind heart surfaced so quickly that Allie wondered if the whole ordeal could have been associated with a cascading nightmare. The instant gratification of having him back did lift some of the aforementioned guilt and Bobby convinced her that playing along with the lie was a necessary evil.

Soon they were on their first hunt back in the game as a complete trio. Something was taking people… virgins, yikes. The initial conversation between the three actually felt kind of normal, like they were already fading back into the usual routine. A welcomed change considering Allie had felt ungrounded and off-center for so long. Sure, Dean had brought up her… mental state briefly in passing but the remedy of having the gang back together again? Far better than any other coping mechanism.

They sat together at the table of the motel room that they had rented. Who knew being in a shoddy motel would feel so good? And then Dean whipped out the victim's diary. He theatrically read a passage out involving the young woman 'giving her boyfriend her most precious gift.' God, he played it well... too well. "You know you could have asked me to read it, right?" The blonde perked her brow at his dramatics. It seemed that idea hadn't come to him.

"I made it sound good, I got the intent across." Dean retorted, somewhat disappointed that no one had laughed at his well-acted point regarding the victims being virgins. "It's... you know... actors they bring life to the text!" He continued on, feeling a need to defend himself. Normally Allie laughed alongside him. Now he felt stupid.

"You're not an actor." Allie quipped with a blank expression. The poor victim was probably looking on from the grave, watching him read out her diary like it was a monologue in a middle-school play.

"I know that, Alls," Dean hissed in embarrassment. Fuck their moments didn't usually go like this! Usually, she'd laugh and say he was a dumbass or something. The comedy wasn't working.

Sam watched with a slight grin as the two interacted before turning back down to look over at his laptop. "So, then why do you think they're taking virgins?" He placed a hand on his thigh, elbow out to the air in focus, cutting the interaction between his fellow hunters short. As much as he enjoyed seeing Dean put in the hot seat - they had work to do.

Dean grinned bright and wide, taking on his comedic stance once again - this time determined to get the laugh out of them that he so rightfully deserved! "I don't know, I like my women with a little more experience," He jested.

Only to hear crickets.

Allie turned away from him and attempted to hide her obvious cringe. It was alright. They all had comedic moments that just didn't land. She had them too! Still, it was hard to watch him crash and burn when Sam had just gotten back. Rather than leave the awkward pause in the air, Allie opted to give him a small reply. "Do you? I always knew you had weird kinks. GILF's is niche though." She couldn't help but snicker at her own retort, pressing pink lips together and rubbing them to avoid breaking out in laughter as Sam chuckled beside her, obviously enjoying the moment.

Dean's eyes widened, right grassy iris twitching at her proclamation. "I didn't say that!" He barked and placed his face in his hands. Great! Day one with Sam back and Allie was already kicking his ass with comments like always. Fuckin' woman acted like a standup comedian when Sam was around. In an effort to regain composure and his typical facade, Dean sat up straight and pushed his broad back against his chair, grinning like a madman as he finally thought of something to say. "But I see where your mind's at. You're such a dirty birdy, Firely."

A long groan and Allie shifted to stand up and pace around the room. "Okay, so I guess we need to go and suss out a few promise-ring ladies, hmm?"

They dealt with the disappearances in due time. Virgins had been kidnapped by dragons. Dragons were real and apparently hid in sewers, sitting atop heaps of gold from their taken innocents. The monsters were the least bit of their worries. Bobby brought up a frank discussion of their next giant leap. A door was being opened, a door that contained 'mother', not that they quite understood what that meant in the first place. The book he had found was old and archaic and the language wasn't easy to interpret considering it had been written on pages made out of human skin.

Allie heard him before he even spoke while she stood naked beneath the showerhead in her father's bathroom. It seems that boundaries no longer existed between the two considering he had just sauntered in. "You couldn't wait until I was done?" Her voice was soft and she pulled her long hair over her shoulder, allowing the water to ease her frustrations toward her father's most recent news. "If you take a piss right now I'm going to lose my mind." Despite the humour in her words, she definitely meant it. The idea of another big bad being on the horizon had her... anxious. They had JUSTgotten back to usual. Tonight would be full of nightmares, that was for sure.

Dean stood quietly for a long moment, just listening to the sound of her tender voice in the evening alongside man-made rain in the shower. "I need to talk to you," He avoided her humour like the plague, it wasn't the time for that. He sort of wished she'd keep talking in that tired, sleepy tone - if only to have something to lull him into rest, real rest. Not just five hours of sleep and a gun under the pillow. Rest in his soul.

She caught the remiss in his overlook of her comedic words and quieted down, eyes staring at the shower curtain that separated them from one another. She could not see him, and he could not witness her nudity but the scenario felt intimate in ways that many people didn't get to share with another. Someone out there in the world was most likely wishing on a star to have such a connection with someone. So, Allie softened herself and breathed out to prepare for the serious conversation that was probably about to take place. "What's wrong?"

He leaned against the bathroom sink and sighed, running a calloused hand through his spiked hair. "He knows," Dean began with deflation evident in his tone. "Cas told him." The stark contrast from earlier on in their day to now ran like a film reel in his mind. That moment had been so... comforting. Their old routine had returned, though now short-lived. Sam would soon have more questions regarding what had happened while his soul was in the cage and frankly, Dean didn't know how to answer them. Giving his younger sibling even bits and pieces could lead to catastrophe. Don't scratch the wall. Death's caution repeated again and again.

Though he cherished the scene between them, considering the implications of her allowing him to stay while she was... in such a state, Dean didn't dare move closer to the curtain. Not the physical one, the invisible one that kept their relationship the way that it was. He could make such a simple move, a small action. Undress and climb into the shower with her. Would she refuse? Lately, he had the feeling that she wouldn't. Allie had been more vulnerable recently, more open with her emotions (even the negative ones) than she had in the past. Even despite the wedge that grew between them the year before. Now they had been back together for a few months and something was changing.

If he did make the action he'd hold her. Just wrap his nude body around her until maybe she felt comfortable enough to cry. Fuck, maybe he'd cry too. That's just how things were going. Their relationship was moving forward and subconsciously he knew that, but a part of him was still scared. Inside he was a terrified little boy who didn't know how to accept love from anyone, and he certainly didn't know how to have a healthy relationship with a woman. Even with Lisa, he didn't understand how to perform normally. He fucked up so many things. It was a shock that she somehow accepted all of them.

And Allie... Allie was different from Lisa or Cassie. She had wounds that the other women didn't. They may not have talked about it much but her initial apprehension towards men did mold a lot of her personality and he understood that. Hurting Allie would be his greatest failure,

and he'd failed a lot.

In fact, he was ninety percent failure. The other ten was probably... alcohol mixed with cigarette smoke. Nothing worth any sort of importance. But Allie was important. So he held back until he knew. Hopefully, the courage would come sooner rather than later.