When Dean and Allegra arrived at the expo site in the late afternoon, they found the place abandoned. Though it helped to not have any visitors if things went sideways, it also meant whatever they were dealing with had free rein to mess with them. Neither wanted to take any chances, so they made sure the few weapons Allegra had taken along with her when she left Sam were fully loaded. 
The moment they set foot in the first hall, Dean noticed the chill in the air. His breath came out in little puffs, and his lips tasted salty. He glimpsed at his girlfriend. Allegra's body language was tense, and her eyes carefully searched her surroundings as her flashlight briefly illuminated the objects in the glass cases. 

"You pickin' up on something?" he asked.

She said nothing, but nodded. Holding his flashlight over his gun, Dean stalked behind Allegra, casting quick glances at the displays. Every item glistened through the glass. Had he come to the expo under different circumstances, he might've appreciated the artefacts more. Though he'd always had a thing for the Wild West, Dean couldn't deny that pirates and buccaneers were just as awesome.
In the back of his mind lingered a memory from when he was a toddler and Sam hadn't been born yet. The Winchesters had dressed up as pirates for Halloween. Dean remembered running around the yard with his toy sword to challenge all those who dared to come near their home — or rather, their ship — and his father getting a little too much into character with his enormous hat and eye-patch on. His mother had staged a mutiny with the neighboring kids and made them both walk the plank, right into the kiddie pool.
A smile crept up the corners of his mouth as he imagined Allegra as a fierce pirate lady. She'd rock the look. Not to mention, she'd be smoking hot. Maybe he could convince her to dress like that next Halloween. He hadn't celebrated since Sam was little, and he was certain Allegra hadn't either since Gabriel left her. They'd both been through too much to pretend the monsters weren't real, but they were living a fairly mundane life now. And there was the plus of having lots of yummy candy during Halloween. So... why the hell not?

"You know, it doesn't need to be Halloween for me to dress up. I'd be down for a little roll-play if you're game." 

Dean blinked when Allegra's voice broke the eerie silence. He questioningly cocked his head at her. She threw him a playful grin. Ah, of course. 

"God, I really ruined you," snickered Dean. 

All of a sudden, the clear chiming of a bell resonated around them. Dean halted at the sound. A shiver ran down his spine. Did it... get colder? 

"You heard that too, right?" he asked Allegra. 

"Uhu," she said. "You see anything?" 

Dean looked around but found nothing that even remotely resembled a bell. He exchanged a glance with Allegra before slowly continuing. A breeze swept through the hall. Soft thudding, like the rigging of a ship gently bumping against the sails, made Dean look up. There were no ropes or sails in sight. There weren't even any windows. 
The hairs on the nape of Dean's back rose as every single hunter instinct he possessed was on high alert. He inched closer to Allegra. If it came to needing a quick getaway, he'd have to rely on her powers.  

"What's that?" 

Dean looked to where Allegra was pointing her flashlight. A skull lay in the middle of their path. It stared up at them with empty eyes. The bell he heard before chimed again, louder this time. 

"Okay, I'm officially creeped out," said Dean. 

"That makes two of us," agreed Allegra.

"Let's scram and come back when we have more intel."

Dean grabbed Allegra's outstretched hand and waited for her to zap them out to the car, but nothing happened. She met his inquiring gaze, and then pinched her eyes closed. Her nose scrunched in concentration. If they weren't trying to make a break for it, Dean would find her expression adorable. Unfortunately, it just upped his anxiety. 

"Anytime now, Alley."

"I am trying, Dean. Something's blocking me."

"What? You're a hybrid Archangel. What the hell could —?"

A deafening gong interrupted Dean. His head jerked right, certain it came from the entrance. He raised his gun, fully prepared to fire at whatever was in the hall with them. 

"Dean..."

"Ssh."

"Dean."

"Alley, let me —"

"Dean!"

The urgency in Allegra's voice snapped Dean's attention back to her. He followed her wide-eyed gaze and gasped. The skull hovered in the air. A skeleton's full body was taking form underneath. Ribs, spine, pelvis, arms and legs, all sprouting out from the skull. Tendrils of flesh hung from the bones like rags.
Dean gagged as the foul stench of rot and sea water penetrated his nostrils. He quickly pressed his arm against his nose and mouth. The hunter knew he should run, but he stood paralyzed. Out of fear, awe, or magic, he couldn't tell. And when two glowing red dots appeared where the skeleton's eyes should've been, it only seemed to get worse.
The skeletal specter tilted its head awkwardly, its jaw dropping at a slightly crooked angle. The red lights rested on Allegra. They burned brighter. A sword appeared in the bony hand. Dean held his breath. That thing better not try what he thought it would try. 

"Get us out of here," he whispered. 

A harrowing, other-worldly shriek pierced his ears. Skeletal feet clanged against the stone floor as the specter lurched forward, sword swinging overhead. 

"Allegra!"

The weapon came down... and Dean dropped into the driver's seat of the blue Impala. The paralysis lifted off his body, and he didn't hesitate a moment longer. He dropped his gun and jammed the key into the ignition. The car roared to life. Dean put the stick in reverse, pulled a one-eighty, and floored the gas. Only when he could no longer see the expo site in the rearview mirror did he breathe. 

"Damn. Alley, what the hell just—Alley!"

Dean hit the brakes in the middle of the road when he saw Allegra white as a sheet beside him. He'd been so focused on getting out of that cursed place, he hadn't even noticed Allegra's forearm got slashed open. Blood gushed out of the wound, staining her neat trousers. 

"Hold on," said Dean, quickly putting his tie as a tourniquet above the wound to stop the bleeding. "I'll get you to a hospital."

"N-No, just get to the motel," replied Allegra through gritted teeth. 

"Allegra, you're bleeding out!"

"Hospital means questions. It's already healing."

Dean met her gaze. He knew she was right about the questions, but was he really supposed to go on a limb here and rely on her healing abilities? Those had failed before. Then again, her attacker hadn't been an Archangel, so maybe he could really roll the dice on this one. 

"Dean, drive," urged Allegra. "I'll be fine, I promise."

"All right, just... One sec." He ripped a strip from his shirt and wrapped it around her arm. "That should help for now."

"Thanks, but, um... you do know we've got a first aid kit in the back, right?"

"Can't I make a grand gesture to impress my wounded girlfriend?"

Dean winked at her light chuckle and drove off again, trying really hard not to think about how he completely forgot about the damn first aid kit.

***

Allegra inspected her arm as she turned off the shower. The thin red slit was vanishing before her eyes. Fully healed in not even an hour. As if she needed any more proof that her powers were growing. 

"Alley, you okay?" Dean knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course," she said, draping a towel around her body. 

Her boyfriend's head peeped around the corner as the bathroom door opened. Allegra held up her arm, turning it for him to see. 

"All better." She smiled to reassure him.

"Good. You really scared me there," Dean said as he entered. 

"It looked worse than it was. I've had nastier wounds than that one, trust me."

"I know, I just... Hm, never mind. Can I quickly rinse your clothes? I think I cleared most of the blood with the salt paste."

Allegra nodded and stepped out of the bathtub to stand behind him. She watched Dean wash her blouse and two-piece, curious at the sudden change of topic and the way he carefully avoided looking in the mirror. Did he blame himself for what happened? If so, he really shouldn't. He could've just as easily gotten hurt. But for some reason, that thing had it in for her. Why, though? 

"I think we need to take a closer look at the victims," proposed Allegra as she dried her hair with a second towel. "Maybe see if we can talk to some of the other employees, too."

Dean hummed but didn't reply. He wrung the water from her clothes, one by one, and then hung them over the drier line across the bathtub. He turned his back on her again to clean the sink.

"Dean? Are you okay?" 

She heard him heave a sigh. He looked up. Allegra gasped at the tears in his eyes. She put a hand on Dean's shoulder and nudged him to make him face her. His arms instantly wrapped around her, pulling her close to him. He buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Hey, what's going on?" she asked, gently caressing his hair. "Dean, talk to me."

"It was my fault." The breaking of his voice tore at Allegra's heartstrings. "I almost lost you, and it would've been my fault."

"What? Dean, no, don't say that."

"I was completely useless." Dean stepped back and looked at her. "That thing came at us, and I just... froze."

"That thing had you, had us, under its mojo. You can't blame yourself for that."

He shook his head and bit his lip. Dean Winchester didn't cry easily, so to see him like this in such clear agony... it killed Allegra. She cupped his face, rubbing his tears away with her thumbs. 

"Listen to me," she spoke strongly. "Nothing that happened tonight, or any other time I got physically hurt, was your fault. Getting hurt is an occupational hazard, being what we are and with all the enemies we make. Every hunt can be our last. We both know that. But we can also cross the street and get hit by a car. Or slip and break our necks. Even if you'd be standing right next to me when something like that happens, it'll still not be your fault."

Allegra leaned in and brushed her lips against Dean's. He gripped her body tighter in response. 

"You save me, Dean," she whispered, "in every way a person can be saved. Every single minute of every single day."

"So do you," he spoke back to her. "I don't know what I'd do without you. That's why I... I freaked out. Alley, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Not for loving me. Because I sure as hell am not sorry for loving you." Allegra kissed him, more firmly this time, and then breathed lightly against his lips. "You jump, I jump, right?"

Dean beamed and nodded, a last tear falling from his eye. "Right."

All the distress, all the fear, went away with their next kiss. They moved out of the bathroom to the bed. Dean undressed further, while Allegra dropped the towel from around her body. It would've been easy for either of them to take the lead and make the other submit. Instead, they did as they'd done the night of their birthday. 
They kissed. They touched. The warmth and sensation of their bodies sustained their craving. And by the time they succumbed to sleep, both felt as if they'd drowned into each other, blissful and content.