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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


Fulgram, Texas

 

The North Texas Sky

 

An orange pink glow settled across the north Texas sky as Dean parked his baby half a block away from Cassie’s house. Home, he allowed himself the brief thought before stepping out onto the narrow street.

Once he and Sam removed their bags, they followed the tree lined lane up to a stone walkway. In the older Dallas neighborhood, sidewalks and driveways were few and far between. However, Cassie’s bungalow was a lighthouse in the darkness. Though the journey to it was inconvenient, it was never treacherous.

“You sure this is alright with Cassie? I don’t mind finding a motel for the next couple of nights.”

“Sam, it’s fine.” As the last year of sometimes had become all the time, neither he nor Cassie saw the need to relegate Sam to the background for a few nights a month. Not when there was a comfortable bed and a home cooked meal his brother could enjoy as well.

This last year was what Sam probably wanted anyway, not him. No matter the dreams that plagued him or the lilt of Cassie’s laugh, in his heart he felt one of the cruel sisters of Fate twisting a blade. Ready at a moment’s notice to cross his name off the list. And he’d given them plenty of chances – hesitated once too often with the thought of never seeing her again.

Those twins. As he turned the knob into the short hallway which led to Cassie’s living room the thought assaulted him again. Since he’d met them, a long gone Castiel and children at a pond had randomly appeared in his dreams. That is what they were – dreams.

Real life was a set of rules: Cassie didn’t call when he was on a job. If he didn’t make it back, then someone would let her know. And they never spoke about anything beyond the two or three days they spent together. Never. While he got a little peace from his world, he’d often wondered what she got from the deal?

Why did her voice lift when she spoke to him?

“Which way?”

“Oh yeah, okay.” Dean readjusted his bag over his shoulder and walked further into the house. “The kitchen is over here. She never has anything good, so we’ll have to hit the 7-11. The patios out there. Killer grill. This is the living room. Plasma TV. No feet on the coffee table. Back there is Cass’s office.” He continued down the main hall. “Guest bath. Don’t use the towels on the rack. This is you.” Dean opened the door of the guest room.

“Nice.” Sam said as he tossed his bag on the bed and looked around the room.

“Better than the last place we stayed in. But if you hear those same sounds coming from Mommy and Daddy’s room, it’s okay.” He chuckled at his on joke, but Sam only shook his head. “What?”

“Maybe before Cassie gets back from her party, we can talk about where we go from here.”

“Alright, let me shower and we can start tracking this coven again. Man, I hate witches.”

“Not the coven, Dean. Us. You’re happy here. Normal decorative towels and outdoor grills kind of happy. I think you should stay this time.” Sam swallowed hard and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I’m gonna miss you, but how many chances are you going to get?”

Dean straightened, every muscle in his body tensing in an instant. Giving up the hunt? He couldn’t. “Sammy, take a Midol and then come talk to me.” He headed up the hallway to the bedroom he shared with Cassie without looking back.

“I can’t.” He said as he closed the door behind him and inhaled the lemony scent which permeated the entire room.

Smells like sunshine even in the winter, Cassie always said.

Dean dropped down onto the bed, his eyes drawn to the single framed photograph on her nightstand. It showed him under a tree looking out over a lake, Baby was in the background. He smiled about that lazy day in the sun – quiet and Cassie in his arms. The memory alone should have satisfied him because he out of everyone knew that next time wasn’t guaranteed and yet he wanted it so badly.

Ai Boutique Hotel, Downtown Dallas

“Ooo, damn.”

Cassie turned her head toward the entrance of the hotel ballroom to see what had stopped Laura Wilthew in mid-sentence.

“Wow.” Cassie blinked slowly but the image of Dean in a black tux framed beneath the arched entrance remained. He adjusted each of the sparkling cuff links at his wrists and then swept a hand through his hair. At that moment, James Bond had nothing on her baby. “Damn.” Cassie blinked again and then turned back to Laura who was still staring. “Excuse me.”

“Honey, I’d run over there if I was you. ‘Cause even I’m thinking about knocking you down.” Laura shook her long auburn hair over her shoulders, and waved in Dean’s direction.

“Cousin or not, I’d cut you.” Cassie said in her sweetest southern belle voice.

"Honey, you aren't quick enough." Laura’s laughter rang in her ears until Dean took her in his arms and pulled her just outside of the entrance.

“You look amazing,” he said and then kissed her. All other sounds were muffled by the soft moan in his throat.

It took everything to pull her head back and catch her breath. “So do you. I didn’t think you could make it tonight. How did you get the-”

“I got it.” Dean fingered the jeweled ribbing of the dress’s neckline and her flesh tingled with each swipe of his finger.

“I missed you, but this is work remember?” She pushed him back, creating a small space that wasn’t filled with the scent of earth and fire and hedonistic pleasure. “The main course is done but there is dessert still on the table. Key Lime pie.”

“I’d like to dance.”

“Really?” She looked up at him and hesitated as he led onto the dance floor. He caught her in an easy rhythm and whirled her around the floor to the strands of the sonata. “It must be the tux.”

He laughed and kissed her again.

She was drowning, her lungs filling to explosion and yet there was no air. Looking up into the mossy green eyes darkening to a muddy brown, a scream inched up her throat.

“It’s the lights,” Dean said as he lifted his head from hers. “You look beautiful.” He whirled her again and again.

The reason for screaming disappeared.

As did everything else, except for the feeling of enchantment. He was hers finally. Forever. She felt it in every fiber of her being. Tonight was the night.

“Let me take you home,” Dean whispered against her ear.

“I’d like that a whole lot.” She pecked his lips.

He smiled back at her still holding her in his arms. “I can’t wait to get you home. I love you so much, Cassie.”

Her heart dropped into her shoes. The word love didn’t flow out of Dean Winchester’s mouth, it had to be wrenched out of his throat. “Let me run to the restroom first.” Cassie kept her gait steady and the smile on her face until she made it into the bathroom. With shaky hands, she called Dean’s cell.

His voice sounded across the line after a single ring. “You live in Texas and you don’t have barbecue sauce?”

“Where are you?” she choked out.

“In your kitchen. What’s wrong?”

“Oh, God. Oh, God.” Her whole body shook, and then Dean’s true voice reached her ears.

“What’s wrong?”

“Dean, you are waiting outside of the bathroom of Ai’s to take me home.” Her voice cracked. “What do I do? What do I do?”

A moment of silence passed and then an authoritative voice spoke. “Is there another way out of the bathroom? A window? A vent?”

No windows. And the vent was too small. “There’s only the door.”

“Alright Cassie, listen to me. You go back out there and pretend you’re with me. You drive home and I’ll be there. Don’t let on that you know. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t get to you in time so you have to be sure. Can you do it? Can you get home?”

She sniffed and dried the streams of tears running over her cheeks. “I can do it.”

Cassie walked out of the bathroom and into the Dean-like being’s arms. “Do you have the car?”

“No,” it said with a slight grin.

“Then I’ll drive.” She tried not to look at it as she walked out of the hotel and across the parking lot to her car.

Driving faster than she normally would, it still took twenty minutes to reach her house. Twenty minutes of its touches through her hair, along her neck and down her legs. Pretend you’re with me. She repeated the words in her head, but couldn’t muster more than a word or two in response to the thing’s attempt at conversation.

When they reached her house, she hurried up the walk and unlocked the door.

“Cassandra!” The thing growled from behind her. “He’s here.” It caught her around the waist, pushing her ahead of it into the house. “He’s here.” It walked her forward into the living room.

“Let her go.” Dean stepped out of the shadows with a shotgun pointed in their direction. Sam came from the left with a smaller gun.

“Not yet. I have a question for the lady. How did you know? I’m so good of what I do.”

“Shut up and let her go.”

“Ah, my sweet, it was not to be tonight.” It kissed her cheek and then it was gone in a puff of ginger scented smoke.

“What the fuck?” Dean chucked the gun onto the coffee table. “Sam, what the hell was that?”

“I don’t know but it’s gone.”

“Are you alright?” Dean’s gaze pulled her into his arms.

No, she wasn’t alright. Tears flooded over her cheeks and she gasped for breath. His world touched theirs for the second time.

Honestly, could she endure it?

 

The "L" Word

 

Hours later, Cassie placed the empty wine glass on the nightstand in her bedroom.

Dean slid in next to her. “Are you ready to talk about it?”

“I guess.”

Dean wrapped her in his arms. “I’m here. Nothing is going to hurt you.”

Cassie whooshed out a long breath and started. “I was at the party and you came in. And we danced and I kissed him and I really thought it was you.”

“How did you know? What made you call?”

Cassie dropped her head into her chest.

“It’s okay. It may help us find out what this thing is.”

“It told me how much it loved me.” The words hung in the air and she rushed on to finish. “Then, I knew it wasn’t you.”

Dean let out a small joyless laugh. “Of course you did.” His hands tightened around her. “Anything else? Did you smell sulfur? Notice black eyes?”

“The eyes were green like a crayon. Forest green, I think. Does that help?”

“Everything helps. I’m going to find this thing, Cassie. It won’t ever touch you again. I promise.”

In her heart, she knew he would. He wouldn’t rest until the job was complete. And since she was the job, where would he turn to find peace? “I don’t want you to save me.”

She shook her head and Dean lifted her chin up so that his gaze met hers. “You don’t have the choice, sweetheart.”

 

What Was His Name?

 

After three days, Dean and Sam had gone through all of Cassie’s contacts and they were no closer to finding out what they were dealing with or who it was.

The only person that stood out was her cousin, Laura, who at the age of thirty-two was grieving the loss of her third husband. Cassie had forbid him from slicing the woman’s wrists with a silver knife. Thirty-two with the body of a twenty year old and each husband wealthier than the last? Witch, his mind had grasped the idea and refused to let go.

“Why?” Sam had asked. “She loves Cassie. They’ve been best friends since they were kids.”

His brother’s voice and adverted gaze made him realize that he was alone in the investigation of Laura Wilthew. “Did you sleep with her?”

“She’s not a witch or a shape shifter or a demon. She’s just upset about her husband. And…and…and…the thing with Cassie. You can’t be pissed about that. You used to do it all the time.” Sam had smirked up at him and the feeling of loneliness settled across his chest.

Dean read through the list again as Cassie sat down next to him on the sofa. Laura for the time being was off the list, so who else? Employees, friends, former in-laws and family members. Name after name floated in front of his eyes. All except for one. “What was his name?”

“Who?”

“The guy. Six months ago. You were on a date.”

“It wasn’t a date. He was a freelance writer and was pitching some ideas.”

“What’s his name?

 

I'm Michel

 

After an hour of convincing Cassie that he’d be fine without Sam, Dean arrived at the small house of Michel Richard. The man he recognized from Cassie’s sofa leaned against a convertible, watching the men load items into a moving truck. A woman flitted back and forth across the yard yelling, “Be careful!” at the top of her lungs.

“Hello, I’m Agent Young.” Dean flipped the ID out in front of him. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Hmm…I thought I’d be higher on your list, Dean Winchester.” The man glanced in his direction, fixing him to his spot with the mossy green eyes.

Dean tucked the badge back into his pocket, relieved not to focus on the swamp like stare. “You know who I am. Who are you?”

“My name is not important. What is important is that my dear sister has shown me the error of my ways and we are leaving. Our sweet Cassandra remains yours.”

“What the fuck are you?”

“So you can figure out how to kill me? I don’t think that would be wise.” Michel crossed his arms and shook his wavy brown hair over his shoulders. “I will tell you this – silver won’t work.” He laughed. “Neither will your demon knife. But it is finished. Let this go, Monsieur Winchester. I will not contact her again. I’ve followed her from Missouri to Tennessee to Texas and she’s never noticed me. I will find another. Maybe one of my own kind. Though Cassandra reminds me so much of a lover I once had. Another human in 1892.” Michel’s eyes took on a faraway look. “I loved her.”

“I’m going to stab you for the hell of it.” Dean’s hand twisted around the shaft of the demon blade.

“That isn’t necessary.”

Dean looked up to see the woman standing in front of him, her accent more pronounced than the man’s. “My brother and I are leaving. He will not bother her again. We don’t harm humans. We are the good folk.”

“I fell in love what else can I say? My heart overtook my head. It is the same with you is it not?”

Dean stepped away from the car unable to speak and watched them drive away behind the truck.

Yeah, it was the same.

 

The Fairy Revealed

 

“He won’t bother you again.” Dean dropped down onto Cassie’s bed and brought his hand up to his head.

“What was he?”

“One of the fae. A freaking fairy who fell in love with you. He could have given you a wonderful life, if I wasn’t around.”

“I love my life with you.” She tried to kiss him but he turned away so that her lips grazed his ear.

“Why? He followed you to three different cities and you didn’t look at the guy twice, why?”

“Because I’ve been in love with two men my whole life. One of them is gone. And the other is lying next to me.”

“This can’t work, Cassie.”

“I know this ends badly. You die. I die. The fucking world goes to hell in a hand basket. Nothing ends well for any of us. Please, baby, know that I know that. I’m ready for it. That what this has taught me. I’m ready. I could lose you tomorrow as long as I have this moment.” She bent her head to his, her tears wetting his cheeks.

“I want something else for you.” He breathed out.

“We don’t get exactly what we want, baby, but it’s enough isn’t it?”

 

The Choices Have Been Made

 

“I’m leaving.”

“Lock the door on your way out.” Cassie grumbled and turned over in the bed without opening her eyes.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She pulled the blanket over her head.

Dean made his way through the house and out to the Impala. He slid into the passenger seat, the non-dream still fresh in his mind. As Sam pulled into the lanes of the neighborhood, he rested his head. “You remember those twins from a few years ago? The time travelers?”

“Yeah,” Sam chuckled. “I think about them sometimes. If they’ve been born yet.”

“You ever think they were mine?”

Sam twisted his hands around the steering wheel. “If they were, they loved you.”

“The girl, she was going to take you out. I saw it in her eyes.”

“No, she was scared. But she couldn’t let Daddy see that.” Sam glanced over at him and then turned his gaze back to the road. “Dean, I’ve been having dreams. Vivid dreams.”

“Me too.”

“These kids, do we lead down the same road?”

“Do we have a choice?”

For the first time in years, Castiel answered into the silence. “The choices have been made.”












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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.