Dean was relieved that Esme was smiling, and agreed to get dressed and come with him. He was half afraid she would want to run far away from him, after what had happened between him and Sam in front of her. But she didn’t seem to want to run. He sighed in relief and nodded.

“I think I can make food happen too.”, he whispered, scrunching his face up as he leaned in close to her face. When she kissed him, he almost forgot Sam was back in the room, making a small and content sound as he brought his own hand up to brush her hair back and cup her cheek, before she pulled back from him, causing him to chase the kiss a bit, with his mouth open.

“I guess I can go get them for you…”, he whispered, his eyes still closed and his eyebrows raised, “If I can find them all…”

He stood from her with a laugh and ran his hand down to pinch her chin gently before turning to the door and opening it. He stepped out into the room, looking around for all of her clothes, stopping to glance over at Sam.

“You alright?”, he asked, as he bent and picked up Esme’s underwear and jeans. He stepped over in front of Sam, snatching her bra and shirt from the chair opposite his brother with two fingers. He then snatched her shoes off the floor and turned back toward the bathroom, thankful he was able to find pretty much everything on his own. As he waited for Sam to answer him, he bent and grabbed his own jeans from the floor, stepping behind the partition wall to pull them on over his legs, dropping the sheet nearby, “You’re being quiet. I don’t like when Sam’s quiet…”

He pushed the bathroom door open and threw Esme’s clothes toward her feet before walking back out to join Sam.

Esme knew how relieved Dean was to see her smiling and had agreed with him about getting dressed. She also knew that he was afraid that she would leave after what had happened between him and Sam. She partially knew that it was coming with how they just dropped off for several hours, but something like that wouldn’t chase her away that easily. She fully intended to stick around and see this through and help where she can. After she kissed him, she held back the laugh that threatened to escape her as she saw him chase after her kiss. But did laugh at his comment about her clothes.

“Yeah, they are kind of all over the room.” she said, the laugh caring in her voice. Her eyes closed briefly as he ran his hand down to her chin and pinched it gently. “Good luck.” she called as he walked out. When the door shut, she stood to her feet and walked over to the sink and looked into the mirror above it. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself a bit. Her hair looked a little wild, and she had a bit of makeup smudged on her face. She reached over and grabbed a washcloth, then turned on the water and wet it. She then put a little soap on it and cleaned off the smudged makeup on her face.

By the time she finished, Dean opened the door and tossed in her clothes. They landed at her feet. “Thank you.” Esme just barely got the words out before the door closed again. Dropping the blanket, she picked up her clothes from the floor and got dressed as quickly as she could. She then ran her fingers through her hair to make herself look a little more presentable. She gave a small sigh, knowing this was as good as it was going to get, adjusted her shirt and opened the door. Before walking out, she picked up her boots and the blanket. After walking out, she tossed the blanket on the bed, then set her boots in a chair. She then quietly went on the hunt for her missing socks while Dean and Sam talked.



Sam became lost in his thoughts as he waited for Dean and Esme to finish talking and seeing if she was alright. When Dean came out of the bathroom, he snapped out of his thoughts about everything going on and Madison. He nodded to Dean before looking over at him and watching him gather Esme’s clothes before he went behind the partition wall. “I’m fine, Dean.” he said simply. He then set his phone on the table next to him, then looked back to Dean as he tossed Esme her clothes. “Just because I’m quiet doesn’t mean there’s something wrong, you know?”

He looked at the bathroom door a moment before looking back at Dean. “How’s she doing? Everything alright with her?” he asked, gesturing towards the bathroom door. He was wondering how she was after what went on in front of her this morning involving his tantrum. When Esme finally came out of the bathroom, he looked over at her and could see that she seemed to be doing better. He could see she was purposely being quiet to let them talk. “Hey, you doing okay?” he asked her. She momentarily stopped her hunt and smiled at him. “Yeah, I’m alright.” she said warmly. She then went back to searching for her socks. When she found them, she went and sat in the chair she had sat her boots in.

Dean rolled his eyes at Sam telling him he was fine, “Well with you, of course it means you’re mad. C’mon Sammy…”

After he gathered Esme’s clothes and rejoined Sam, he heard his question, and shrugged his shoulders, “She seems good, honestly. She just seems like she might stay. I don’t know if you think that’s a good thing, or a bad thing, right now.”

Dean watched her, as she came into the room, just standing back with his arms folded as she searched for her socks. He smirked, knowing they were near the foot of the bed, where she had peeled them off in the middle of the night. He did his best to cover the proud smirk on his face, as he was still hung up on the drunken fun that he could remember…

Clearing his throat, he stepped forward and ran a hand across her shoulder blades, stepping around the room to try and find his shirt. He found his jacket lying behind the chair nearest to the door, and snatched it off the floor, tossing it at Sam playfully.

“Where are my shirts?”, he asked himself out loud, scanning the room. Suddenly, his mind began flashing small images of the night before.

The car pulling up.
Dean waiting in the lobby while Esme did the checking in.
Trying to rob the vending machine.
Kissing Esme, ending up at some point with her holding him against the hood of her car.
His jacket, and both shirts ending up on the hood at some point, until he got cold trying to open the door, and put his jacket over his bare shoulders.
The underwear bet loss…where he lost a game of pool, after having a few drinks, and what did she bet him? If he lost, he had to do a little dance for her…in her panties.

He whipped around at the memories, and squinted at Esme, “I think we um…need to talk about your aggression.”

He spoke the words and his eyebrows raised as he opened the door, and stepped out, snatching his shirts off the hood of her car that was just outside. He came back inside, holding the shirts up in one hand, “On the car? Really? And panties?!”

He barely paid attention to Sam in the room, as he questioned her, and then chuckled, straightening out his t-shirt. He pulled the shirt over his head, slipping his arms into it. He gave her another look, and shook his head, laughing as he picked up his flannel and started shoving his arms through it.

“Next time…I’m staying sober…”, he muttered, pointing at her with his knife as he pulled it from under the pillow. He laid the knife on the table, and shoved his feet into his boots.

Esme looked up at Dean when he ran his hand across her shoulder blades, then watched him for a moment before sliding her feet into her socks. A smirk made its way to her lips as she saw him throw his jacket at Sam. Then it grew as she watched him searching around the room and heard him question himself. She knew exactly where his shirts were. She held back a laugh as she saw him remember the events from last night. She picked up a boot and shoved her foot into it as the memories flooded her mind as well. She then picked up the other and shoved her foot into it, then laced them up and tied them.

She looked up from her boots at his comment, giving him a mock shocked look before he walked out to grab his shirts. “Me, aggressive? I think you have me confused with someone else, Doll Face.” she said as she adjusted her pant legs over her boots. Esme took to her feet as Dean came back into the room, a huge grin coming to her lips as he held up his shirt and questioned her, which she gave a small shrug to. “Hey now. You’re the one that started it and also agreed to it…… You seemed to like it too, from what I remember.” She walked across the room with a laugh to grab her jacket off the floor, almost forgetting that Sam was in the room.

After picking up her jacket, she turned to look at Dean, smiling cutely, with her tongue poked between her teeth. She then threw her jacket around her shoulders and shoved her arms into the sleeves. She put her hands into the pockets of the jacket, making sure her car keys were still there, sighing softly with a laugh at what he muttered. She pulled her hands from her pockets and shook her head. “Staying sober.” she whispered ever so softly. “When have you ever stayed sober going out with me?” she joked and laughed. Esme fell silent as she scanned the room.

“Where did you go?” she mumbled to herself. “Ah, there you are.” She walked over to the bed, knelt down, and reached under it and pulled out her gun. Turning to look at Dean, she held her gun flat in her palm. “Really? You kicked it under the bed?” she questioned with a raised eyebrow. “Were you afraid I was going to use it?” She stood up and ran her thumb over the wolf carved on it before tucking it away in the back of her pants and pulled her shirt down over it as she waited for his answer.



Sam sighed, throwing up his hands at Dean’s comment and looked at the table. As Dean spoke about Esme, he turned his attention back to him. “Really?” he questioned. “Actually we could use the extra help with everything going on. Not to mention the bond her and Madison seem to have. I’d hate to see how she reacts if Esme were to leave.” he said with a little shiver at the thought. He fell silent for a moment and looked away from Dean, as he fell into slight thought. “I just hope she doesn't become too much of a distraction for you.” he said to where only he could hear.

Sam then fell quite again as he watched the two moving around the room collecting their things and carrying on a conversation as if he wasn’t even there. His eyes went wide at the mention of Dean’s shirts on the hood of Esme’s car along with panties. You’ve got to be kidding me. he thought to himself. His eyes went wider at Esme’s reply to Dean as if it was nothing new or unusual. Sam put a hand over his face and shook his head trying to block out the conversation going on between the two, now almost regretting coming to look for them in the first place.

He would have been better off with Madison and Castiel, and not having to hear Dean and Esme talk vaguely about things that happened last night. Sam watched as Esme searched the room for her gun and talked to herself, noticing how it reminded him of Dean. When she walked to the bed and pulled it out to show him and confronted him, she reminded him of Dean once again. It was a bit weird but funny at the same time and he couldn’t help but smirk. But he still couldn’t get what they had been talking about out of his mind as well as some of the images that popped in too, causing him to shiver slightly.

That was not something he wanted to see when it came to Dean and Esme. Sam took to his feet and looked at the two. “I think I’m going to head back. You two get you something to eat and I’ll see you at the house.”

Dean laughed, shaking his head, “I honestly have never been sober with you. Maybe that’s how you talk me into crap…a little pool, a little alcohol, and I let you manhandle me…”

He watched her as she searched for her gun. It had fallen out of her pants when he pulled them from her legs, and he had kicked it under the bed. The thought of her holding him at gunpoint caused him to raise an eyebrow and cock his head to the side, as if to say ‘that’s kinda hot', “Maybe we can try that next time, eh? I mean…make sure it’s not loaded, of course. But gun stuff is a trail untraveled for me.”

He placed his tongue between his teeth and gave a charming smile, his eyebrows high until he heard Sam’s voice, and his head snapped to his brother, finally remembering he was in the room. It was something that happened when he was with Esme. Sam was right, in what he had said earlier. She could be a distraction, easily.

He stepped up to Sam and patted him on the chest, “You be careful getting back to the safe house. I think we may grab drive-thru…and I hope you saved me a decent room if we’re gonna be there a while.”

He stepped away from Sam, and over to Esme, picking her up and spinning her. His mood had shifted in the past twenty-four hours into something that he didn’t even recognize. Part of it was the alcohol that drove them the night before, but also the fact that he missed her, a little more than he would admit. He lowered her to the ground, touching foreheads with her, and smiled brightly, “What drive-thru shall we hit, while I nurse this hangover?”

Esme could only grin and shake her head a bit before she had retrieved her gun from under the bed at his comments. She knew it was true, and it made it all the funnier in her mind. After putting her gun away, she watched him as he went into thought about her holding him at gunpoint. She placed her hands on hips at his look, giving him a look of her own as if to say ‘yeah, you would think that’ while giving a small smile. Her eyebrows rose at his comments of trying it next time, and it was something he hadn’t done. A mischievous smile made its way upon her lips at his smile.

Her smile just about said ‘you really want to go there?’ as she looked at him. Her smile and look faded at Sam’s voice. She turned to look at him as Dean stepped over to him and she dropped her arms at her sides. A small smile rested upon her lips as she tried not to laugh about what could possibly be going through Sam’s mind right now. She and Dean had been talking vaguely about last night's events and possible upcoming events, as if he weren’t even in the room. Poor guy. He’s probably wishing he never came to look for us now. she thought to herself. Esme watched the two guys as they interacted with each other.

Sam smiled as Dean came over and patted his chest. “You know I will.” he said with a small chuckle. “And you know Cas already has you covered with a decent room. You more than anyone should know that.” he chuckled. When Dean stepped away, he walked over to the door. “You two be careful and no more detours, alright?” He then opened the door and stepped out as Dean picked up Esme and spun her. This was a side of Dean he wasn’t used to seeing.

Esme gave a small laugh at Sam’s comment. “Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon.” she said before the door closed. When Dean picked her up and spun her, she couldn’t help but laugh as she rested her hands on his chest. She took in how happy he seemed and how he was still being fueled by last night's alcohol. She still mentaly kicked herself for dropping off the way she did, and wondered how she could have let herself do it. She had missed this interaction far too much. When he sat her down and touched foreheads with her, she smiled back just as brightly as she looked at him.

“Hmm, that’s a good question.” She closed her eyes briefly with a small content sigh. “I’m not too familiar with the places around here…… But a breakfast burrito sounds pretty good right now.” She gave a little laugh before looking into his eyes again. “You’re not the only one with a hangover, you know?”

Dean heard Sam step out as he lowered Esme to her feet. He was feeling a little overwhelmed by how nice he was being. He surprised himself, but she was just different from anyone he had ever met.

Dean couldn’t help himself when she smiled, loving the feeling of the room at that moment. He almost didn’t want to leave. He leaned in and took her bottom lip between his teeth smiling with a snarled nose. He even playfully growled at her, which caused him to internally ask himself what the hell was going on?

When he released it he nodded, “You don’t look very hungover, but I think I could make that work. I know a place. C’mon…”

He pecked her on the lips and pulled away from her completely, taking her hand, “Do you have everything? Need me to grab anything else?”



“Just concentrate…”, Castiel whispered, leaning in close to Madison’s ear from behind. She was staring intently at a quarter that Cas had laid on the table in front of her. She stared at it harder, squinting her eyes a bit, and it slid about an inch across the table, “Good! That was very good.”

“I did it! I moved the money!”, she shouted, turning to Castiel and throwing her arms around his neck. Castiel responded by going still, but slowly brought his arms up around her back, and hugged her tightly, “Esme needs to see this. And Dean! Dean will trust me more.”

“I don’t know about that, just yet. Listen, Madison…”, Castiel explained, pulling back from her, but keeping his hand resting against her jaw, “Dean is good. He feels things on a level that most of us cannot even begin to comprehend. And right now, he’s running off of fear, which is probably his most dangerous emotion. The best way that you can get through to Dean is to give him a reason…to respect you.”

“What does that mean?”, Madison asked him. He shook his head sadly and shrugged his shoulders.

“When I find out, I’ll let you know. For now, let’s work on breathing…”, Cas finished with a sigh. He dropped his hand from her face, patting her arm as their exercises continued, waiting for the others to return.

Esme watched Dean after Sam left. She could see the change in him from yesterday as if it was night and day. He seemed like a completely different person, but she wasn’t complaining. She had to admit; she liked this side of him. She also noticed that when she smiled, it influenced him, bringing him into a better mood, which put her in a good mood as well. When he leaned in, she thought he was going to kiss her, not take her bottom lip between his teeth with a smile and snarled nose. At his playful growl, her eyebrows went up in surprise with a look that said ‘did you just growl at me?’ that turned into a warm laugh when he released her lip.

“Maybe not.” she started with a laugh. “That might be because I didn’t drink as much as you.” When he kissed her, she kissed him back and gave his hand a little squeeze when he took hers and interlocked her fingers with his. At his question, she took a last look around the room to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything. “I think we have everything. Unless you want to grab me and carry me out.” she said with a playful grin. She then slowly headed for the door, the grin still resting on her lips.



Sam had taken his time getting back to the safe house. He knew Castiel had everything under control and if he needed anything, he would have gotten in touch with him. He just needed some extra time away to clear his head and think about things. Mostly about the way Dean was acting around Esme. Dean acted unlike himself while he was there with them in the motel room. Sam couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was about her that made Dean act in such a way. She seemed nice enough, but he was afraid that she was going to be too big of a distraction for Dean.

He shook the thoughts from his mind as he pulled in and parked. He got out and locked the doors, then made his way inside. When he got inside, he just barely caught the tail end of whatever Madison and Castiel were talking about. He hung back, watching the two work on the exercises Castiel had been teaching Madison. After a moment, he walked over to where they were and stood where he could see them both. “How are the exercises going? Have you made any progress?” he asked Madison.

Dean was still incredibly surprised at his mood, almost trying to frown just to test if he could be mad or sad around her. Esme had always had that effect on him, though. The brief time they had made for each other, over the years, was time that he looked back on fondly, if not just for how genuinely happy he was, around her.

He knew that his mood wouldn’t go ignored by her, at this point. They were drawn to each other’s emotions like moths to a flame. A smile crept onto his lips, as he ran over his internal thoughts, and he turned his head to her when she scanned the room to check for anything they had forgotten. When she agreed with him that they had everything, and became playful once again, his eyes brightened once again.

“I mean…that sounded like a request.”, he quipped, turning and letting her hand go to bend and wrap his arms around her mid-section. He hoisted her onto his shoulder, like a brute, and slapped her ass. Grabbing his knife from the table with his free hand, and shoving it into the back of his pants, he opened the door and stepped out with her, walking around to the drivers side of the car. He dropped her onto her feet, “I couldn’t forget you!”

As he laughed, an elderly couple passed them, smiling at their closeness, which caused Dean to smile back at them and wave with a laugh, “They think I’m cute…”

His eyebrows raised once again at his attitude, and he shook his head, confused, before his eyes met hers again, still confused.



Madison thought she heard someone enter the house, but she brushed it aside, as she concentrated on her breathing exercises. She breathed in deep through her nose, holding her hand out at bowl of water. Castiel watched intently as she concentrated, hope in his eyes that she could control herself enough to move the water, but not blast it into oblivion.

“C’mon…”, she whispered, as her hand began to light up, pulling the water into a point slowly. She sighed and lowered her hand, breathing heavily as the water dropped back into the bowl.

“Perfect.”, Castiel muttered happily, brushing a hand over her face to help her turn her eyes back to normal as she calmed down, “That was perfect. And that’s what you do when you’re losing control. You breath. You take your time. Angelic grace is finicky…especially for someone like you.”

When Sam stepped into the room, Madison pulled away form her exercises completely, and Castiel looked up at him with a small smile. She jumped into his arms excitedly, squeezing his waist, “They’re going amazing! I can move things, and I can control what my powers do…So maybe I can not hurt anyone!”

Castiel nodded in agreement, “I have to say she’s doing well. I don’t know that she’s ready to be around a hoard of people…but it’s a start. How are Dean and um…Es-Esme?”

Esme stopped walking when she felt him respond to his playfulness, then laughed at his quip. She didn’t even have time to turn to face him when he let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her midsection. A small gasp escaped her when he hoisted her upon his shoulder and slapped her ass, but a smile rested upon her lips. “Not really, but I’m not complaining.” she laughed. She brushed her hair out of her face and watched as he tucked his knife into his pants. “The view is pretty nice.” She then enjoyed the view as he walked out the door with her and to the car.

She couldn’t help but smile warmly as he set her back down and spoke. “Well, I would hope not.” She laughed along with him, then looked over at the elderly couple as they passed by, smiling at them. Esme smiled warmly back at them with a wave, then looked back at Dean, watching his confusion rise at his attitude. “How could they not think that?” she grinned. His confusion was almost too much for her to handle and made her wonder how she could have such an effect on him without trying. It was also amusing to her and kept a constant smile upon her lips.

“Perhaps we remind them of themselves when they were our age.” Esme giggled as she lifted her right hand to his cheek, still taking in his confusion, and stood on her toes as she rubbed her thumb on his cheek. “I have to say, I like this side of you.” She then gently pulled his face to hers and planted a sweet kiss on his lips as she rested her left hand on his chest. She let the kiss linger before pulling back slightly to look at him. “It’s pretty adorable.” she mumbled against his lips and kissed him again. After a moment, she pulled back with a content sigh and leaned against the car with a smile on her lips again.

She knew that if they kept this up, they’d never get out of here, and her stomach agreed as it growled. She placed a hand on her stomach to quiet it with a laugh. “So, where is this place we’re going?” she asked, looking up at him as she pulled her keys from her pocket.



Sam watched as Madison pulled away from her exercises and jumped into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and smiled at her excitement, showing that he was happy for her. He looked over at Castiel as he confirmed he was doing well and asked about Dean and Esme. “They’re fine.” he told Castiel. “They should be here soon. They were going to get something to eat before coming back.” he explained. Knowing Dean, that could take a little bit, especially if he allowed himself to get distracted by Esme. Which he could easily see happening.

From what he could tell from the short time knowing her, she seemed to be his type, and they were alike in ways, not to mention how happy he seemed to be with her. He sighed a bit before looking back down at Madison, giving her a warm smile. “So, while we wait for them to get here. Why don’t you show me the exercises you’ve been doing with Cas.” He was curious to see just how far she had gotten in controlling her powers since he had left the safe house to find Dean and Esme. He then let her go so she could let go of him and show him what she had learned from Castiel.

Dean laughed just before he dropped her on her feet, and she made a comment about his ass, “Don’t objectify me”

Dean thought over the idea that the elderly couple could possibly be seeing themselves in Esme and himself, which caused him to make a different face, pondering the idea of being elderly. It wasn’t something he could fathom in his mind, considering how he felt about going out hunting, or doing anything other than lying in some bed, in some picket fence neighborhood. He shook his head but smiled warmly back at her as her hand touched his cheek, causing him to flinch a bit. He scanned between her eyes, and raised an eyebrow, “You like…soft me…”

He started the words, before she kissed him, causing him to take a deep breath through his nose and kiss her back, a smile forming at the word ‘adorable’ humming against his lips. He chased her kiss until she met his lips again, and he was tempted to turn right back around and step back into the room, but he refrained, allowing her to pull away.

As her stomach protested loudly, he glanced down, “Oh…organs are complaining. We gotta get going. It’s a little mom and pop down by Bobby’s roadway. I used to eat there every morning when I was a kid. They have a pretty quick and efficient drive through. So, Sammy will be happy…”
He rolled his eyes, and reached a hand up to run his palm down the side of her face, before giving it a small pat and a happy sigh, “Let’s get going. Sam said Cas has a room…for us…I mean me.”



Castiel simply nodded at Sam, slightly annoyed that Dean didn’t come back with his brother. There wasn’t much of a reason for Dean to have any kind of relationship that was longer term than a night or two. Cas knew that taking a girl out for breakfast meant that she would likely be staying with them. On one hand, he was thankful, because Esme brought Madison calm. On the other hand, she would absolutely be a distraction to Dean.

“Well. Let’s hope this doesn’t set him back with his duties…”, Castiel muttered, looking down at the table where Madison had been moving random objects, and bending things to her will. It was important in teaching her to not lash out.

Madison pulled away from Sam carefully, looking up at him with excited eyes when he asked about showing him what she had learned. She scanned his eyes for a second, “Really?! Okay. Watch this…”

She stepped away from Sam and ran over to the table. She decided to show him the exercise that had scared her the most at first, holding up a large knife. Without warning, she plunged the knife into the back of her opposite hand, a yelp leaving her throat.

Castiel held a hand up to Sam, in case he felt the need to move forward, and shook his head, signaling for him to wait and watch. A soft wind blew around the room, as Madison’s eyes lit up Amber once again, and she huffed. Castiel then stepped forward, pulling the knife from her hand, which normally would have caused her to explode, but she didn’t. Instead, her hand healed quickly, and she held the hand out to Castiel, carefully picking the knife up from his palms, and then causing it to stab into the table loudly.

She turned to Sam and smiled, “It’s a start. I don’t know how it will work if I get attacked, or if you get attacked, but it’s something I’m working on.”

Her eyes were still glowing as she looked toward him, and she lowered her face back to the table, holding a hand out and moving the quarter a few inches, like earlier, “And I can move the money!”

Esme watched as she pulled away, taking in his expression and his emotions. She knew her kisses had tempted him to turn and go back into the room with her, but his control not to go back made her smile. If she was honest with herself, she was half tempted to go back as well. After her stomach had growled, she watched him as he looked down and spoke, nodding at his words and giving a small laugh at his eye roll. “I would imagine he would be.” She had only spent a little time around Sam, but could somewhat tell what kind of person he was. A strong, brooding type of guy.

When Dean ran his palm down her face and patted it, she closed her eyes for a moment. She thought about what he said about Castiel having a room for him. A thought came to her mind about it and she held back a laugh and refrained from bringing it up. She then stepped to the side and unlocked the car door. “Then let's get going before my stomach yells at us again.” she said, opening the car door. “But I have one question before we set off.” She crossed her arms over the top of the door as she looked at him, a serious look on her face.

“If Castiel has a room for you, Sam, and Madison, where does that leave me? Do I bunk with Madison or am I on a couch?” She asked as seriously as she could, trying to make him think it was a concern for her, when in reality it was a joke. She rested her chin on her arms as she waited for his answer.



Sam looked away from Madison and back at Castiel, seeing that he was thinking about the same thing he was about the two. He sighed inwardly at Esme becoming a distraction for Dean again, even though it would be good to have her around for Madison. Sam could only nod as Castiel muttered, it was true, that they could only hope. He then turned his attention back to Madison as she pulled away from him, watching her scan his eyes. He then watched as she ran over to the table to show him what she had been working on. He raised a brow when she picked up the knife.

He was about to step forward when she plunged it into her hand, but Castiel stopped him by holding up his hand. Sam looked back at Madison after Castiel shook his hand. Sam stood there and watched as her eyes lit up and a soft wind blew around the room, and readied himself for something to happen as Castiel stepped up to her, pulling the knife from her hand. When nothing happened, he released the breath he had been holding as her hand healed and she caused the knife to stab into the table. Sam returned Madison's smile when she turned to face him and spoke and nodded.

“You’re right, it is a start.” he said walking closer to the table as she moved the money. “As long as you prevent yourself from exploding, that’s something.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and with a warm smile. “Don’t worry too much about any of us getting attacked right now. Just keep focusing on keeping control of yourself for now. That’s pretty important right now.”

Dean stepped around to the passenger side of Esme’s car as she spoke up about having a question for him. He thought it over, and placed his arms on the roof of the car, fidgeting with his fingers a bit as he watched her face. Castiel most likely hadn’t planned for them to meet up, and therefore wouldn’t have made her a room, most likely.

He tilted his head to the side, and then to the other side, before smirking, “You could always just bunk with me. I mean…I barely snore, even with a broken nose. I don’t take up a lot of space. I’m too paranoid about being killed in my sleep to hog the covers, and there’s the odd chance you could get a little something? Eh? Think about it.”

Dean raised his eyebrows in a convincing way, not able to take any of it seriously. Thanks to what they were assuming was Castiel not knowing about Esme’s arrival, he was getting more time with her, than he had anticipated. There was always a plus to that!



Madison gave a very small sigh. She was tired from all the exercises, one after another, “I definitely need to work on not being so tired. Is it alright if I lie down while we wait for Dean and Esme?”

She pulled away from Sam after a tight hug to his waist, and walked into the small bedroom nearby.

Castiel nodded, watching Sam’s touch, and the way he spoke to Madison. He raised an eyebrow at how close they already were, and silently wished he had been there for the birth and everything that had happened. He had promised to take care of her, and yet, he had laid that all on the brothers’ shoulders.

Sighing, he stepped forward to Sam, as Madison gave him a tight hug around his hips, and pulled away from him, reluctantly.

“Sam, I can handle this on my own, for the most part.”, Cas muttered to the much taller Winchester, “When she was born, I made it my mission to keep her alive, and look for her higher purpose with her. Her mother, as well as I, thought she was going to be a good force, but a force to be recognized nonetheless. She’s powerful, more powerful than anything you’ve ever faced…and you need her…”

He clammed up after that, simply turning his head back toward the table and sitting, silently offering Sam a seat.

Esme lifted her chin from her arms as Dean made his way around the car and to the passenger side. She turned so she could watch him, keeping a serious look on her face as she watched him think about her question and watch her face. When she saw him smirk, she tried her hardest not to smirk as well. As Dean spoke, she nodded, looking as if she were thinking about his words. She was still fighting the smirk that threatened to show itself. As he raised his eyebrows, she put a finger to lips and tapped it against them. “Hmm, that is something to think about.” she said thoughtfully.

Esme let her hand drop before getting into the car and shutting her door, then put the key into the ignition. Once he got into the car, she gave the key a turn and started the car. When she first arrived, she hadn’t intended to stay this long, but now she really couldn’t bring herself to leave. She was enjoying Dean’s company far too much and didn’t want to leave. She also knew that her arrival was unexpected to everyone, and there was no way they could have planned for her to be there or even stay. Esme smiled inwardly at the thought of actually staying for a while and getting to spend more time with Dean. Pulling herself from the thought, she looked over at Dean and gave him a warm and sweet smile. She then pulled out of the parking space and out of the parking lot.



Sam watched Madison, seeing how tired she had become after all the exercises she had done. He gave her a hug back when she hugged him and watched her walk to the bedroom. His attention went back to Castiel, noticing his raised eyebrow and then listed as he spoke to him. Sam sighed, running a hand through his hair as Castiel spoke about Madison and nodded. When he took a seat and offered him a seat, Sam sat in the chair across from him. “Listen Cas, I know you pretty much have this handled, but you don’t have to do this alone.” Sam started. “Dean and I both gave our word that we would do what we could for Madison. I don’t plan on going back on that.”

Sam looked at Castiel to see if he was getting through to him. “It’s not hard to see that she is a powerful force and more than we have ever dealt with, but that doesn't mean I’m going to run from this. I’m going to see this through and make sure nothing happens to her.” he told Castiel.

Dean laughed a bit at her smart ass reply to his proposition, and got into the car. Once he was seated in the passenger seat, he reached over to meet Esme’s warm smile, and kept his own. He reached his hand over, and placed it gently against her thigh, running his thumb back and forth in contentment as they drove out of the parking lot.

“So, you want a breakfast burrito. I don’t remember you ever really eating breakfast…”, he muttered as they pulled into the drive thru of the tiny restaurant they had chosen. He leaned over her a bit when a little old lady came to the window, and smiled brightly, leaning his ear against Esme’s chest as he ordered their food. The woman looked at them as if she had seen the greatest thing, mostly because she had known Dean most of his life, off and on.

Before he straightened back up as they waited for their food to come back to the window, he leaned up and gave a sweet look up at Esme, “She doesn’t think I’m tough, anymore…”

He pouted his bottom lip out at her.



Castiel smirked a bit at Sam’s insistence. He knew that Sam cared for the girl, and if Cas was honest, they had already made some sort of connection, before she was born. She liked listening to his voice, and seemed calmer when he was in the room.

“I just want to make sure you’re prepared for what might happen. And despite her…form…You need to know that she’s still…learning how to exist. I know how quickly you tend to attach yourself to people.”, he explained, now staring up at Sam with intent eyes.

“She trusts you. You can get through to her. You can keep her focused. With your brother in the wind, with Esme, I’m going to need your help, as much as I don’t want to take it.”

Esme smiled more as she felt Dean’s hand against her thigh, then felt his thumb run back and forth along it. She sighed softly, holding back a shiver from his touch as she drove out of the parking lot and onto the road. Then she placed her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze as she kept her eyes on the road. When they pulled into the drive thru, she gave a little laugh at his comment. “I do every now and then.” she told him with a grin. When he leaned over her, she leaned back in the seat a little, then smiled at the older woman that came to the window.

She looked at Dean as he leaned his ear against her chest and ordered their food, then looked back at the older woman, watching her face. Her look brought a warm smile to Esme’s lips. When she stepped away from the window, she looked back at Dean, seeing him lean up at her with a sweet smile. “Is that really such a bad thing?” she asked with a sweet smile at his pouting. “Is it really that bad if a few people see your softer side?” She looked down and took his hand in both of hers and gave it a squeeze. She then turned her hands and rested the back of his hand in her left palm, then set her right on top of his before sliding her hand up, letting her fingers trace over his hand. “Like I said earlier. I like this side of you.” As she spoke, she looked up and smiled sweetly at him.



Sam looked at Castiel and gave a nod to his words. “I’m prepared for whatever might happen, Cas.” he started. He knew that there were many things that could happen while Madison was still learning how to exist among humans. He sighed heavily as Castiel spoke a truth about himself. It was true, he did tend to get attached quickly to people. “I know you don’t want to take the help or even ask for it, but I’m sticking around, anyway. I can only imagine how she would react if I were suddenly out of the picture.” Sam said, looking at the table.

“It wasn’t that easy earning her trust. It took her almost losing control in the diner and talking her through it for me to earn it, and showing her I was there for her and not going to kill her.” The memory of the moment flashed before his eyes, almost as if it were happening all over again. He shook the memory from his mind and looked back at Castiel, trying to drive home that he planned on sticking around to help with Madison whether or not he asked.

Dean pouted a bit deeper and he shrugged, “If people are a little scared of me, they don’t test my patience.”

He laughed softly, staring down at their hands after a few seconds, as she drew shapes on his palm. The gesture was incredibly relaxing, and Dean fought his eyes trying to close as she moved, “Only you get this side of me. I told you that a long time ago…that hasn’t changed.”

He smiled pleasantly, staring at her eyes as the woman came back to the window and handed their food out to them. Dean took his spare hand, leaning up again, and took it from her with a sweet smile, shaking the bag in front of Esme as they sat there, “So, I’m feeding your belly, and you’re giving me a chill pill, with that…”

He gestured toward his hand that Esme was playing with, and cleared his throat, still fighting not to close his eyes.



Castiel sighed almost in unison with Sam, and finally nodded, “And then there’s Dean. You gained her trust. You didn’t try to kill her. You made her love you. Dean, on the other hand is still not convinced.”

He fidgeted with his fingers, feeling bad for talking about Dean in this way, behind his back, considering their bond, “I recommend that, for the time being, we do our best to keep you near her, as close as possible, even if she’s just eating around Dean. Any hint that she’s losing control, and I can’t even predict what your brother will do to a non-human. But I do know he would never forgive himself, if he hurt you.”

He leaned back in the chair, his hand on his chin as he patiently waited for Madison to wake up. Usually Nephilums could survive on short hour or less bursts of sleep, which is part of the reason Castiel had brought her here, to be in a house he could mediate her powers within, instead of having her roaming around a Motel, possibly coming across all sorts of rage inducing humans.

“Speaking of you being near her. You should probably check on her…as I may scare her. We have a bond, but not on the level of protecting myself from her suddenly waking up.”

Esme smiled sweetly again at Dean’s pout and shrug, then closed her eyes and shook her head gently at his comment before giving a little laugh of her own. Opening them again, she looked at Dean, watching him fighting to keep his eyes open as she continued to trace over his hand with her fingers. It brought a smile to her lips even as he spoke about her being the only one to see his softer side. “I know you did.” she whispered. Though, she still didn’t see the harm in the older woman seeing his softer side. When the older woman came back to the window, Esme continued to trace over Dean’s hand with her fingers as she looked over at the woman with a warm smile and thanked her as Dean took the bag.

Turning back to Dean and him shaking the bag in front of her, she gave a warm laugh at his words and looked down at their hands again. “Looks like I finally figured out the technique to mellow you out completely then.” she said as she lifted her gaze. She then rested her hand on top of his for a moment, then held his hand in hers, bringing them up to her lips and softly kissing the back of his fingers as she closed her eyes briefly. “It’s good to know in case you get too overwhelmed.” she spoke softly against his fingers. She gave his fingers one more soft kiss before bringing them from her lips and setting his hand back down on her thigh, letting her fingers softly glide off the back of his hand.

“I appreciate you feeding my protesting belly.” she smiled sweetly. “Then again, I knew you wouldn’t let me go hungry.” She then turned from him, putting her hands on the steering wheel and pulled out of the drive thru, a content smile resting upon her lips as she did.



Sam leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he listened to Castiel, giving a simple nod. He knew it was going to be hard convincing Dean. He felt also bad himself for talking behind Dean’s back. He looked down at the table as he listened to Castiel, then closed his eyes as he went over everything. “I agree. It shouldn’t be too hard to keep her close, unless she wants to be around Esme. I don’t see her letting Dean do anything. The two of them formed a pretty close bond in the short time they were together. In fact, she’s the one that found Madison when she ran away from us.” he told Castiel, his eyes still closed.

“Esme gave her clothes to wear and showed her kindness, and was even going to feed her.” He let out a sigh through his nose. “There’s something different about her I can’t quite put my finger on. She hugged Madison and she almost instantly calmed down.” he said thoughtfully. Sam fell quiet as he went into thought, going over the events of the previous day and how everything had played out. He was pulled from his thoughts as Castiel spoke again. He gave a simple nod. “Right, we don’t need her scared as soon as she wakes up.” he said as he opened his eyes. Sam leaned forward and pushed himself from the chair and onto his feet.

“Let’s hope you’re right about this.” He then turned from Castiel and headed to the room Madison had gone into. He gently pushed open the slightly cracked door and stepped into the room, then walked over to the bed. He looked down at her sleeping form for a moment before taking in a deep breath. “Madison?” He said her name softly as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Dean watched Esme’s movements as she brought his hand to her lips, causing a shudder to leave them as they parted. He felt the need to kiss her, but they needed to move. But if he kissed her, it wouldn’t hurt, right? No. They needed to move. He reminded himself internally that she was going to be sharing a room with him at the safe house. The second he got her alone…

He bit his lip as his hand sat flat against her thigh, curling his fingers to grip her leg a bit, as he responded to her words about calming him,“Please do…”

Dean smiled brightly with his eyes, almost showing teeth as he sat back in his seat and squeezed her thigh again, “Well. You’re going to need energy, if you’re running with me…I mean…us.”



“i’ll be willing to work with the girl…um…Esme, if it means keeping Madison safe.”, Castiel said simply, “And I’ll find out if she has any powers. It shouldn’t be too hard to, how do you say…suss out.”

As Sam stood, Castiel watched him walk, a bit concerned for his safety, but needing to test a theory. He nodded simply at Sam as he entered the bedroom to wake Madison.

Madison didn’t dream. She fell into an empty darkness in her sleep, until that dark quiet was interrupted by a familiar voice. Her eyes opened, calmly at the sound of Sam’s voice, and she looked up at him, jolting a bit with concern, “Sam? What’s wrong?”

She scanned his face, wondering if something had happened, for him to be waking her up, or even how long she had been asleep for the first time.


Esme smiled a bit more as Dean gripped her leg a bit and responded to her words of calming him down. Before pulling out on the road, she looked over at Dean, his brightly smiling eyes warming her heart. She gave a laugh at his comment as she pulled out on the road, then placed her hand on his. “I don’t doubt that.” she said with a laugh in her tone. “Running around with just you requires a lot of energy, from what I remember. I can only imagine what energy I’ll need to run with all of you.” she said thoughtfully. “I guess it’s a good thing I don’t wear heels very often then” she joked.

As she drove to the safe house, she ran her thumb back and forth over Dean’s hand affectionately. She gave a content sigh once again as she stole a glance over at him. The next thing she knew, they were almost at the safe house. Meaning their time alone together was ending, but she knew there would be more opportunities alone with him. It also meant she could feed her protesting stomach. As she thought about eating, her stomach growled loudly, demanding to be fed soon. She cut her eyes over at Dean with a small smirk on her lips. “Think one of us will get an ear full since we took a little extra time getting here?”



Sam had given Castiel a nod before walking into the room Madison was in. He hoped Castiel could find out more about Esme and shed some light on how her being around Dean had such an effect on him. It was strange seeing him so smiley and carefree, as if he had not a problem in the world to worry about. When Madison woke and seemed concerned, he smiled warmly at her. “Nothings wrong. I was just coming to check on you.” he told her simply. He kept his tone warm and calm, hoping that her concern would fade quickly and not rise to a concerning level.

“You’ve been asleep for a little while now.” He removed his hand from her shoulder and sat on the edge of the bed, watching her and scanning her face. “How did you sleep?” He continued to smile warmly at her as he waited for her to answer and calm after telling her nothing was wrong.