Dean sat behind the wheel of the Impala, under the yellow light of a streetlight, waiting for Tyler to come back from her talk with Tommy. He'd tried to read one of the books Tyler had in her backpack she'd left on the backseat. He couldn't focus on the words. He was worried.

He'd parked near the side exit of the hotel, and as he put the book back where he'd found it, a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked up, and saw Tyler and Tommy on one of the balconies of the penthouse. They were talking, animatedly. Dean wasn't sure why he didn't look away – curiosity? Suspicion? Jealousy? – but his eyes remained trained on them. Were they arguing?

He didn't know anything about their backstory to say for sure, except that they went to high school together, but there was definitely some heat between them. Anger? Passion? He couldn't say. He watched Tyler turn her back on Tommy, while the man was obviously asking her to do or say something she didn't want to. Or couldn't. They were too far away for Dean to clearly see their faces, but their body language was very obvious.

"Cassie and I must've looked just like that whenever we were arguing," he mumbled to himself. He tried not to think of how their arguments generally ended. But he couldn't stop his mind from conjuring up a quick flash of Tommy and Tyler in bed together. He quickly suppressed his imagination. It was not something he wanted to think about.

His phone buzzing in his pocket distracted him, and he dug it out after wiggling around for a minute. He looked at the screen, squinting at the brightness. Just good ole Bobby, checking in with him because Sam had been hitting him up to see if he knew where Dean was. He sighed.

I probably should contact Sam soon. He grimaced. I'm leaving after dropping Tyler off at her place anyway. Their relationship was not the same as it was before, but it was improving. Unless he was somehow imagining things, and he didn't think he was. He sunk down into his seat as he texted Bobby back.


A silence had fallen between them as Tyler finished explaining to Tommy what the hunting life entailed. She'd turned her back to him, but could still hear the gears in his mind turning. It was a lot to take in at once, especially for someone who was as staunch an atheist as Tommy was.

"So," he said haltingly. "Whenever you came home black and bruised…?"

She turned back to face him, and said, "Yup."

"And is that… is that why you broke up with me? Because you thought I couldn't handle the truth? That I was going to be some kind of hinderance to you?" Tommy asked, the pain on his face palpable. Tyler couldn't help but step forward, and grab his hand to console him.

"No," she said. "No, that's not it at all. I… I didn't want this life. I was just brought up in it. You deserved – deserve – better than the life of a hunter. You are such a kind person, Tommy. Hunting is not for the kind."

Tommy scoffed, and made to pull his hand out of hers, but she held on.

"I'm serious, Tommy. Hunting would have destroyed you, turned you cynical and cruel. Turned you into something I wouldn't recognize. You wouldn't be the man I loved any more, and I just couldn't do that to you."

The look in his eyes was almost too much for her to bear. All those years ago she'd wanted nothing more than to wake up next to him for the rest of her life. She'd imagined it; the two of them taking care of the kids, while she hunted part time, and he ran his own hotel. And when the kids finally grew into responsible and respectable adults, then they would have the house to themselves, to finally give each other the amount of attention they needed. That they deserved. Hell, both the General and Tommy's family got along like white on rice. It could've worked. That's what she had told herself. If she would've kept lying to him about the hunting, they could have had a life together.

But what kind of life would that be? She would not live a lie. And therefore, breaking up with him was the best thing to do. It would create enough distance between them that he would no longer have questions that she didn't want to answer, and it kept him from becoming embroiled in the hunting life.

"Even now," Tyler whispered, "I want nothing more than to rush into your arms and hold on tight. You always made me feel safe, and loved. But I can't do that to you. It isn't fair. My life… it's not an easy one, and will probably be a short one. You deserve better, Tommy. You deserve a life in which you are never worried that your partner is out in the gutter somewhere, bleeding out. One where you can do all the things you want to do, and not fret about who or what may come after you in retaliation of something I did."

"Tyler," Tommy made to speak, but she silenced him quickly.

"No, you need to listen to me," she said. "I've already lost my entire family; I won't lose you too. My decision is final. This is goodbye, Tommy."

Before he could say anything else, she walked back inside the penthouse, grabbed her coat and left the room.


Dean jumped as Tyler opened the door to the passenger seat and sat down without a word. He'd dozed off before he knew it, and to his ears it sounded like she slammed closed the door. He opened his mouth to greet her and maybe make a small quip, but the expression on her face told him enough. It looked like she'd been crying.

Dean started up Baby without comments, waited for her to put on her seat belt, and drove out into the night. There was no need for words. He'd been in her exact situation before, he knew the pain she was in right now.