DEAN'S POV

"Morning, Sammy!" I said to my little brother. All I got in response was a groan.

I smiled to myself and stretched. "Breakfast. What'll it be? Pancakes, waffles,  French toast?"

"Why do you always go for the sweet stuff?" Sam asked, getting out of bed. "I'll have cereal."

"But you always have cereal." I argued.

Sam stretched. "So?"

"So, I'm your older brother." I explained. "That means I'm wiser than you. And I think we should have something sweet today."

Sam shook his head. "I'll stick with cereal."

"Fine." I said. "Suit yourself, but I'm making pancakes for me."

Sam shrugged as he got the milk out of the fridge. "Sounds good, but I've got plans for today. I have to leave early for work."

I chuckled. "Sammy, you don't have work. It's Saturday, anyway. Tell me the truth: where do you need to be?"

Sam sighed as he poured cereal into his bowl. "Maybe not work. But I promised Gabriel I'd see him today at 11 A.M."

I laughed. "What're you doing with that jerk?"

"He offered me something. And I might not be able to pass it up." He poured the milk into his cereal.

I waited for a few seconds, but Sam didn't speak. I raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Well what?" Sam asked. "You don't need to know." Sam took a bite of his cereal.

I rolled my eyes. "My God, you're a freak. If you can't tell me, I'm not driving you."

"Yeah. That's the thing." Sam said. "I already have a ride."

Right on cue, a loud knock echoed through our apartment. I raised an eyebrow at Sam. He ignored me and opened the door.

"Hey, Sammy!" Gabriel said, strutting into our room. "Oh, Dean-o! Good to see ya!" He leaned in for a hug, but I quickly backed away.

"What the hell are you doing here, Gabriel?" I asked, crossing my arms. "And get out of my house!"

"I believe it's called a hotel room." Gabriel said with a smirk. "But whatever. That's not important. Come on, Sam, let's get out of here."

I quickly ran over and shut the door. "Not happening. You'll hurt him, I know you will!"

"Trust me, Dean-o..." Gabriel said, looking over at me as the smile on his face disappeared. "I would never hurt your brother."

"Well you have before!" I shouted. "And you killed me, like, 100 times. So excuse me if I don't trust you!" I glared at Gabriel.

"Dean, Dean, Dean." Gabriel said casually as his grin came back. "I should've known this would happen."

"Gabriel, no." Sam said quickly.

"I have no other choice." Gabriel said with a smirk. He snapped his fingers and a glass box encased me.

Quickly, I banged on the glass and yelled, "LET ME OUT!"

"Come on, Sammy." Gabriel said, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door.

"LET DEAN OUT!" Sam shouted loudly as he twisted his arm out of Gabriel's grip. "NOW!"

Gabriel studied Sam as he smirked. "Oh, Sammy, if you still want to make that deal, I have to leave him here."

Sam clenched his fists. "I can't believe I was so damn STUPID! Screw you, Gabriel! Let Dean out RIGHT NOW!"

I pounded on the glass with my fist. "LET ME OUT OR SAM WILL KILL YOU!" I shouted, trying to get out of the glass box.

"What's wrong?" Gabriel teased. "A little claustrophobic?"

Sam took out his gun and pointed it at Gabriel. "Get out."

"You don't want me to release Dean? Fine, I'll leave." Gabriel backed out of the door with his hands up.

Sam slammed the door behind Gabriel and locked it. Then, he ran over to the glass. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Shoot your gun at the glass."

"What?"

"Just do it, Sam!" I shouted.

"But what if I hit you?" Sam asked.

"You won't. You just have to believe in yourself, Sammy." I said quickly. I crouched down. "Now you can shoot."

Sam slowly aimed his gun at the glass, then pulled the trigger. It shattered immediately. Sam ran over to my side and helped me stand.

"Careful where you step." I warned him. "There's glass everywhere."

Sam looked at me weirdly. "I have shoes on, Dean."

"Right." I said, looking down at my bare feet. "Can you, um, help me...?"

"Dean needs my help." Sam sang teasingly with a smile.

I smacked him lightly. "Shut up."

Sam chuckled and picked me up off the ground. He carried me to my bed, then set me down. "There."

"Thanks." I said. Sam nodded and started to sweep up the glass when there was another knock at the door.

"I'll get that." I said quickly, standing up and walking over.

"Careful of the glass!" Sam shouted. I ignored him and opened the door.

"Dean!" Castiel said happily, throwing his arms around me. "You're alive!"

I hugged him back, but am still surprised. "Yeah, of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

Castiel let go of me as he walked in. "Well, Gabriel came and told me..."

"Son of a bitch." I muttered.

"What happened here?" Castiel asked, staring at the glass.

Sam shrugged. "Gabriel happened." Sam smiled and hugged Cas. "Great to see you."

"You too." Cas said with a smile. But it quickly faded as they broke apart. "That wasn't the only reason I came."

"Oh?" I asked.

"Yeah." Cas said, standing there a bit awkwardly. I waited for an answer, but he didn't say anything.

"You gonna tell us or not?" I asked, sitting down on my bed.

Cas sat down next to me. "You never asked."

Sam sighed and sat on his bed across from us. "Can you tell us?"

"I got an urgent call from my girlfriend, and..." Cas started.

"Wait, wait, wait." I said, holding up my hand. I look at Cas with a smart-ass grin. "You have a girlfriend?"

Cas's face turned red. "Yeah. But that's not the point. She went to some beach in Florida to visit her parents. But she says they're in danger. She says everyone on that beach is in danger! Everyone in that city!"

"So what're we going to do?" Sam asked.

"She swears she saw a demon there." Cas said. "And since you guys are hunters, she thought you could help her."

Sam and I looked at each other uncertainly.

"If you won't do it for her, do it for me." Cas said. "Please."

"We'll do it, yes." I said. "But we need a description of the demon. We need to know who it was."

"Thank you." Cas said with a smile. "Let's go."

"Wait, did you say Florida?" Sam asked. "That's hours from here!"

Cas shrugged. "It's never stopped you before, has it?"

4 HOURS LATER

"So what's her name?" I asked.

"Paige." Cas replied, blushing a little.

"And what does she look like?" I asked.

"She has shoulder length hair, maybe a little longer." Cas told me, closing his eyes. "Her hair is sort of a dirty blond color. Except, you know. It's not actually dirty."

"Oh, Cas." Sam said with a sigh.

"Go on." I said.

"She has pretty brown eyes." Cas said. "She's kind of petite, maybe about 5 foot 2 in height."

"Sounds nice." I said, trying to concentrate on my driving. "But you know what's nicer?"

"Me?" Cas asked.

"No." I said with a smile as I tapped the car. "This baby!"

Cas gasped in surprise. "Dean's a father?"

"No." Sam said with a laugh. "Dean calls his car his baby."

"It is my baby, Sammy." I said. "You'll never know what it's like because you'll never have a car."

"Ouch." Sam said, and after a moment's hesitation, he continued. "You know, that's actually what Gabriel offered me."

"WHAT?" I shouted.

"Eyes on the road." Cas reminded me.

"Yeah. But not just a car. He offered me a house and a car. We could live in an actual house, Dean."

"What did he want?" I asked, glancing at Sam.

"All he wanted was for me to promise never to bother him again, and you too." Sam informed us. "But to ensure that, he would have to put marks on us. We wouldn't be allowed to even mention his name without feeling a burning pain."

"And you were willing to take that deal?" I asked angrily. "Sam, he's a trickster. He would manipulate us! He wouldn't keep his end of the deal!"

"Eyes on the road, Dean." Cas said again, a little more forcefully. "And Gabriel isn't just a trickster. He's an archangel. That's not a good deal to make, Sam."

"I... yeah. Okay." Sam said. "Enough about that. Cas, what's she like?"

"She understands me." Cas said. "She doesn't care about the stupid things I say. She... I think she might love me."

"She probably does." I said. "I mean, it sounds like she loves you. I once had a girlfriend named Michelle who understood me the way Paige understands you. She... she loved me."

FLASHBACK

"How are you so attractive?"

I smiled and ran my hands through her hair. "I want to ask you that question, Michelle."

She giggled. "Dean, I'm not as attractive as some of the other girls that were at that party last night. Yet you still stayed with me. Why?"

"Babe." I said simply. "I stayed because to me, you're more beautiful than those girls."

"Aw!" Michelle said with a smile. "That's so sweet!"

I decided to take a risk. "I love you, Michelle."

Michelle's eyes widened as she looked up at me. Michelle was a short girl, maybe only 5 feet tall. But still she smiled up at me.

"I love you too, Dean." Michelle said before she put her lips on mine.

PRESENT DAY

"Dean."

I smiled as I thought of Michelle. If we'd stayed together...

"Dean!"

I jerked up. "Huh?

"Thinking about your girlfriend?" Sam teased.

"I don't have a girlfriend." I muttered. "Michelle broke up with me about 6 months ago."

"Why?" Cas asked.

I close my eyes and remember that moment. One of the saddest of my life.

FLASHBACK

"How could you do this to me, Dean?" Michelle shouted with tears streaming down her cheeks.

I touched her arm. "Baby, please let me explain."

"Fine. You have one minute." Michelle said, crossing her arms.

"I didn't kiss another girl." I started. "She kissed me. And I let her. But that..." I studied her face. It was full of pain. "That was a huge mistake. I would do anything to take it back."

"Anything?" Michelle asked.

"Almost anything." I said.

"Would you kill her to get me back?" Michelle asked.

I put a hand over my heart. "She's innocent. I don't kill innocent people."

"Thank you. That's all I wanted." Michelle whispered.

"So... we're okay?" I asked.

"No." Michelle said. "Listen, I love you so much, but..."

I quickly pressed my lips to hers as we kissed. I wrapped my arms around her neck, but she pulled away.

"I need to tell you something, Dean." Michelle whispered with her eyes full of tears.

"What is it?" I asked worriedly.

"Somebody's after me." Michelle said simply.

I smiled. "That's no big deal, I'll just kill him." Michelle's worried expression doesn't change. "Wait, what's wrong?"

"You can't kill them. They're too powerful." Michelle whispered. "They're... they're a demon."

"Come on. I've killed lots of demons before..."

"Not like this one." Michelle told me. "This one is really bad. And with you here... it's just too dangerous."

"Wait... you're not breaking up with me, are you?" I asked.

"Yes. I have to."

I, Dean Winchester, at near tears now. "Michelle, I'll keep you safe."

"My name's not Michelle." She interrupted. "That's my middle name."

"Oh..." I whispered.

"I gotta go. If we meet again..."

"I love you." I whispered, pressing my lips to hers and kissing her passionately.

"I love you too, Dean." Michelle whispered. And then she left. I haven't seen her since.

PRESENT TIME

"DEAN!"

I jerked up. "Jesus, Cas, you scared me!"

"Is he here?" Cas asked, looking around wildly.

"Who's here?" Sam asks.

"Jesus." Cas said, still looking around.

Sam hits himself on the forehead. He was about to do it again, but Cas grabs his hand.

"Don't hurt yourself!" Cas shouted.

"I'm not!" Sam shouted back.

"EYES ON THE ROAD, DEAN!" Cas screamed as a car came speeding towards us. I jerked the steering wheel sharply to the right and quickly straightened it out.

"Son of a bitch!" I shouted. "You almost hit my baby!"

"We're here." Cas said with a small smile. "Pull in to that parking lot."

I quickly parked the car. The 3 of us got out and started walking towards Paige's hotel room.

"How do I knock?" Cas asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Really, Cas?"

"I want to make a good impression on her!" Cas said in defense.

I sighed and knocked on the door. I pushed Cas in front of me, but he simply tried to get behind me.

"No." I said, pushing him back in the front. "She'll want to see you first."

"Fine." Cas said, stepping in front of me.

Paige opened the door. "Cas!" she shouted, throwing her arms around him. "I missed you so mu-"

"Michelle?" I gasped, staring at her.

"Dean?" Paige gasped. "I..."

"Your name is Paige." I said in awe.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, wrinkling his forehead in confusion.

"Um..." Cas said awkwardly.

"Just come inside." Paige said, leading us into her room. She sat down on one of the beds. Sam and I sat on the other, and Cas plopped down next to Paige.

"Dean." Paige said. "Can you... um... explain this?"

"I... I don't know what to say." I told her truthfully.

Paige grabbed my arm tightly. "Come on." She pulled me into the bathroom and shut the door.

"You're Castiel's girlfriend?" I asked, still shocked.

"Ye-yeah." She stammered.

"And you're still beautiful as heaven." I murmured.

She looked me directly in the eye. "Dean, no."

"You told me if we ever met again..."

"No! I can't do that to Cas!" Paige snapped.

"I miss you so much." I whispered, a single tear rolling down my cheek. "I love you."

"Oh, Dean." Paige said softly. "I'm so sorry. It's just, I really like Cas now."

I smiled. "Cas is great. But... I haven't had a girlfriend since you, Mich- Paige." I explained. "And I miss you. So much."

"Dean, I..." Paige said, but was interrupted by me kissing her. She didn't kiss me back but didn't stop it either. At least for a few seconds.

"Stop it!" Paige yelled, pushing me away and sprinting out of the bathroom. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she ran over to Cas.

"What..." Cas started. Paige pressed her lips to his. Sam looked so confused.

"Dean, what's going on?" Sam asked.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter."

"Like hell it doesn't." Sam said. "I'm confused and I need you to tell me what's going on."

"Come here, Sammy." I said, wrapping my arms around him. Sam hugged me back, a little surprised, but sweet all the same.

"Let's... let's book a hotel room to stay in." I said quickly.

Sam nodded. "Good idea. Let's go."