"Alley? Alley, wake up."

Allegra drowsily opened her eyes. She needed a moment to remember she was on the couch. Dean sat on the edge beside her. She smiled up at him, but the smile quickly faded when she noticed his serious expression. 

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. 

He looked down, prompting her to follow his gaze. Her phone was in hand. 

"New case?" Allegra propped herself up a bit.

He pressed his lips together. She frowned at him. 

"What? Was it Lorelai? Did something happen to her or her husband? Or Mrs. Robinson?"

Dean shook his head. Why wasn't he looking at her?

"Dean, who called?" insisted Allegra, getting really worried now. 

"Sam."

She gasped. Of all the names he could've said, she certainly hadn't expected that one. 

"Wha-What did he want?"

"I don't know. It went to voicemail."

Dean tapped the phone against his fingers and held it out for her while keeping his gaze averted.

"Here," he said. "It could be important."

When Allegra didn't take the phone from him, he put it on the coffee table. 

"I'll be in the kitchen."

He got up from the couch, but it didn't change anything about the weight Allegra felt around her. It was stifling, nearly suffocating. She didn't understand. Why would Sam call her now? He ignored those few text messages she sent in that first week after breaking up. And she only sent those because she'd been holding out on a tiny ray of hope that Sam would still come to help her find a way to save Dean and Kevin because it was the right thing to do. But he hadn't. They hadn't been in touch for... what, nine, ten months now? 

Something must've happened, thought Allegra. Why else would he call me now? 

She swung her legs off the couch to sit up and reached for the phone. But just as she was about to grab the damn thing, her hand froze over it. Her head turned toward the dining room. 

Oh, Dean...

***

Don't go back in there, don't go back in there, do not go back in there! Dean paced restlessly around the kitchen. You can't do this again. You can't freak out whenever Sam pops up around Allegra. It's just a coincidence he's calling right after we... No, screw it! It means nothing! He can't possibly know you're back and that you've been with Allegra all this time. And even if he did, it wouldn't change a damn thing. She wouldn't have slept with you if she didn't love you and you alone. So you're gonna stay in here, and you're gonna suck it up, and you're gonna trust and respect whatever she decides to do! Don't be a little whining bitch again, Winchester! That's Sam, not you! You've grown, so man up, dammit!   

His balled fists trembled beside his body. A haze fogged up his view. He had to summon every ounce of willpower to stay where he was, but he wanted nothing more than to march right back into the living room and throw that goddamn phone out the window. 
When he suddenly caught Allegra's figure standing on the threshold between the kitchen and the living room, he froze mid-pace. His breath caught. Did she listen to the message already? He had only left the room a minute ago. 
She slowly walked up to him. Dean glanced down, but her hands were empty. Where was the phone? He gasped at her gentle, warm touch as she cupped his face. 

"I won't use my shield; I swear," whispered Allegra. "Just close your eyes. Breathe."

Dean did as she told him. He inhaled deeply. All of his senses were triggered by Allegra. Her intoxicating lavender scent soothed him. Her body was within his reach, but he didn't dare take her in his arms. If he did, he would never let her go again. He listened to her humming Hey Jude, finding comfort in that sweet melodious voice. And then... he tasted her lips. 

"Thank you." She breathed against him. 

"I... I don't..." stammered Dean. 

"Open broadcast. But even if that weren't the case, I would've still thanked you. Two years ago, you would've never given me my phone back, much less left the room. We would've fought, and one or both of us would've ended up crying."

Dean cringed at the memories. He still counted his lucky stars Allegra took him back.

"I don't care about Sam, Dean," she continued. "I only care about you. If me listening to that message hurts you, then I won't. I hit that delete button, and that'll be the end of it."

He wanted to say yes. He wanted Sam deleted and forgotten. But then, Dean remembered a specific line from the prophecy. 'Brothers in divinity, brothers in mortality, forever in toil over earthly love.' This... jealousy was hardwired into him and in his brother, too, no doubt. What hadn't they done, trying to keep the other away from Allegra? And the one who had suffered the most from it had been Allegra. It had to stop. 

"He could be in trouble," Dean heard himself say. "He hasn't reached out in months, so him doing so now, putting his pride aside... that's big. And if I don't let you help just because I don't want him near you... I would never forgive myself if something happened to my brother."

Allegra smiled at him. Dean let his hands rest on her hips when she kissed him again. Her body moved closer until she pressed against him. The kiss deepened. He gripped her top. Every fiber of his being screamed to rip it off her and take her right there in the kitchen. It had been incredibly hard to contain himself before when he pleasured her. What he felt was probably still some lingering residue from the hellion's mojo, but... 
Dean forced himself to break the kiss. He leaned his forehead against his girlfriend's. He was completely out of breath. God, this was wrecking him. When had he become so horny? And Allegra seemed to be having the same problem.

"Is... Is it bad that... I wanna zap us back upstairs?" she asked, biting her lip. 

"I wouldn't stop you," said Dean. "But, and I can't believe I'm saying this, we have to deal with this first."

"Okay. Together?"

Dean took another deep breath and nodded. 

"You jump, I jump."

***

"Allegra, hey, it's... it's Sam. I just wanted to see how you are doing. I haven't heard from you in a while and I... I know things ended... rough between us, but I... I just want to know that you're okay. And if, maybe, you found a way to get them back? Kevin, and Cas, and... you know. Could you call me back? Please? Or text if you don't feel like talking, that's... that's okay, too. Just... let me know something. Bye."

Dean exhaled as he leaned on his knees with his elbows. He let go of all his cropped-up tension. Sam was okay. He was merely checking in with Allegra. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. 
He glanced up to look at his girlfriend and frowned when he caught her fidgeting with the hemline of her top. That was weird. Since they started living together, Dean had noticed more of Allegra's ticks, and she only did this particular one when she was nervous. But what the hell was there to be nervous about?

"Hey, you good?" he asked. 

"Hm? Yeah, fine," replied Allegra, shooting her eyes up at him for only a brief second.

"You gonna answer?" 

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I mean... I don't want him to come here to check on me, so... maybe it's best if I do?"

Dean waited for her to take the phone, but it didn't look like she was moving anytime soon. He took the device from the table and opened a new text. 

"Tell me what to write; I'll send it."

Allegra's sudden fascination with her top made Dean even more suspicious. Best to get this out of the way quickly so they could talk peacefully without Sam looming over them. 

"Okay, let's see." He hummed and then read the words he typed aloud. "I'm fine. Don't have a way into Purgatory yet. Kevin..."

He stopped typing. 

"What do I say about Kevin?"

Dean turned his head aside to look at Allegra again, only to find she let go of her top to rest her balled-up fists in her lap. 

"Alley?"

She bit her lip and did everything she could to not look up at Dean. 

"Alley, are y-...?"

The sudden flurry of thoughts coming from her silenced him immediately. 

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We pillage plunder, we rifle and loot.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho."

Dean stared at Allegra, too flabbergasted to react. Was she... singing the Pirates of the Caribbean song in her head?

"Al-..."

"I gotta go to the bathroom."

Dean wasn't sure if she actually walked away or used her powers, but all he knew was that from one moment to the other, Allegra was gone. He looked around in confusion and yelled her name, but she didn't answer. He tried calling her through their mind link, but that didn't work either. 
He huffed and rose from the couch, but then realized he was still holding Allegra's phone. His eye fell on the last thing he'd typed. Of course... Allegra wasn't just freaking out about Sam. 
This was about Kevin.

***

"Damn, that was close." Allegra sighed as she leaned against the sink. "Sam, you son of a bitch, why did you have to call?"

She turned the faucet to let the water run. The steady stream helped her focus her thoughts. Under no circumstance could she think about... Skippy. The only reason he was still safe was because of all the precautions they'd taken. Minimum contact with the outside world, wardings against demons and angels, checking in at agreed times but without a pattern... 
It was the only secret that still stood between her and Dean. She hated that she had to keep it, but what else could she do? Skippy's life was at stake. The more people knew about him, the greater the risk. 

"Alley?"

Allegra jumped at hearing Dean's voice on the other side of the bathroom door. He knocked softly.

"I'll be right out!"

She thought about the Pirates song again and shut the water down. With a smile on her face, she opened the door. Dean was leaning against the door frame. 

"Interesting song you're thinking of," he remarked as he met her gaze.

"Oh... Yeah, i-it just got stuck in my head." Allegra tried to sound as casual as possible. "You know how that happens sometimes."

"Oh yeah, that can get pretty annoying."

She started singing the song in her head from the top again. 

"So, how about we go out tonight?" suggested Dean suddenly. "The radio said they were gonna do a special viewing of that movie, Up. You know, the one with the talking dog, the grumpy old man, and that chubby kid. Oh,  what was his name again? Kyle?"

"Kevin."

"We kidna- Kevin could use some new suppl-..."

Allegra realized she'd fallen for his trick when Dean's eyes widened. 

"Dammit," she cursed. 

She tried to pass Dean, but he blocked her and took her by her shoulders. 

"Wow, hold on a minute, here! What the hell is going on, Allegra? I thought Crowley still had Kevin?"

"Had, past tens- son of a bitch!"

"Allegra, do you know where Kevin is?"

"N-No."

"Yes. Crap!"

'Allegra!"

"Dean, please don't," begged Allegra. "I can't talk about Kevin. It's for his own good."

He let go and stepped back from her. 

"Do you... not trust me?" 

The pain in his voice pierced Allegra's heart. 

"Of course, I trust you!" she said immediately. "But the fewer people know about Kevin, the better. Dean, please..."

She reached for him, but he took another step back. His anguished expression drove Allegra to tears. He pressed his lips together and then walked away, leaving Allegra in the bathroom doorway, wishing she had never listened to Sam Winchester's voicemail.

***

The walk did him good. It helped clear his head. He needed that now. Things had gone wrong before because he overreacted. He couldn't let that happen now. 
After picking Trixie up from Mrs. Robinson's (the old bitty was doing well and didn't seem to remember anything from yesterday), he made his way back to the house but took a longer way through the groove. He had to calm down before facing Allegra again. She must have had a good reason for not telling him Kevin was all right, but Dean still felt upset about it. And guilty.

Aside from the day after he returned from Purgatory, he hadn't given Kevin another moment's thought. He asked Allegra what Crowley needed him for, but he never actually asked if he still needed saving. With the case going on back then, their birthday, and those crappy nightmares about Purgatory... He completely forgot about the kid. If he hadn't, if he had investigated Crowley and Kevin, then Allegra would've probably cracked sooner. The only reason she had now was because their mind link gave her away. He had to give her props for trying to confuse him with that song, though. Why hadn't he thought of doing something like that before?

Trixie's soft whimpering made Dean look down at her. The dog brushed against his hand. He smiled. A dog was trying to comfort him... That's one for the books. 

"I gotta talk to her, don't I?"

She barked. Dean took it as a yes. Oh, great, now he was taking advice from dogs... Absolutely perfect. 
The house came into view, and Trixie darted off. Dean lingered a moment longer. He would have to go in sooner or later. There was no point prolonging the inevitable.

***

Allegra opened the kitchen door when she heard Trixie barking. The dog slipped in, but she stayed right where she was, digging her nails into the doorframe. Her heart pounded in her chest when as Dean crossed the backyard. She couldn't make out his expression or his thoughts. He was blocking her. She would laugh at him doing this now if it didn't just add to her frustration and dread. All those times she blocked him in the past. It was almost funny that he was now actually doing the same to her
Dean stopped right in front of the porch. They gazed at each other for a few seconds, but then he beckoned her. She flung herself into his open arms, taking in his soothing scent. 

"Dean, I'm sorry." She sobbed against his chest. "I wanted to tell you, I swear! But Kevin begged me not to say anything to anyone. He's terrified Crowley will find out where he is, or the angels, and..."

"Hey, hey, it's okay," shushed Dean. 

"You're the only one I trust, Dean. But I promised Kevin, and..."

Her words were cut off when Dean pressed his lips against hers. All the fear she felt was gone in an instant. She wondered if this was what he felt whenever she used her shield on him or kissed him. 

"You don't have to tell me," said Dean. "Just know that I'm here and that I can help."

"I know you are." Allegra let him kiss her again and then took a deep breath. "Kevin got away from Crowley thanks to a spell he read off the tablet. He reached out to Sam first, but the stupid idiot didn't pick up the damn phone, so he called me next. I brought him back here. He stayed for a while, but he was so afraid someone would find him. I gave him the addresses of some of my old safe houses and help set him up each time he goes to a new one. Warding and stuff."

"Where is he now?" 

"Wyoming."

"Does he know I got out of Purgatory?"

"Yes, but he doesn't want you to go to him. He thinks it'll just put him back on the radar, and honestly, I can't disagree."

Dean huffed but didn't reply further to that remark. Allegra hoped he wouldn't fight her on this. She hated being caught in between them, but Kevin had put his faith in her, and she couldn't betray that. For lack of a better term, she was his guardian now. She messed up once before with Charlie and absolutely refused to do so with Kevin.

"He's safe? You're sure?" Dean asked then.

"Yes. I got a mind link with him as well, and I zoom in on his soul every day. I'll know the minute he's in trouble, and I can zap right to him."

"All right then. Just promise me you'll tell me if you guys do need help."

"Yes. Yes, absolutely."

"Okay." Dean sighed and shook his head with a smile. "Come here, silly. Throwing me off with a damn Pirate song, honestly..."

Allegra couldn't help but chuckle as Dean pulled her in again. She let herself get wrapped up by him. Warmth and comfort washed over her. She never wanted to let go of this moment. 
A year and a half ago, Dean wouldn't have been this understanding. He would have argued with her about Kevin and fought with her about Sam. He would have been a stubborn jerk and idiot. But not anymore. 
Allegra was certain now; she would only ever be happy with Dean Winchester by her side.