"Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won."

- Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

                                                                             ***

Galloway flipped her hair out of the collar and looked at Sirius. "Nice job." Dryly, she added, "The jeans are a little tight, but you were pretty accurate with the rest."

"I think it's a matter of familiarity over accuracy."

"That's a little cocky," she said, raising her eyebrows at him.

He stretched out on the bed.  "I'm pretty sure there's a joke in there somewhere."

Combing her fingers through her hair, she put it up in a heavy ponytail, then crawled over the top of him, pinning his wrists. He gave her a half-smile, but said, "I still don't like this."

With a sigh, she let herself fall into him, her head resting on his chest. His fingers played with the seams of her new jeans along her thighs. 

"Doesn't change the fact that I need to talk to them," she said quietly.

"What if I come and just wait outside?" he suggested, and she snorted.

Sitting up, she looked down at him. "When I say alone, I actually mean alone, Sirius. It'll be okay."

"You can't promise that," he snapped, then shut his eyes, turning his head away.

She gnawed at her lip, then started when he sat up, clutching at his shoulders to keep herself from falling over. His voice quiet, he said, "Where are you going, at least?"

Resting her head against his shoulder, she played with one of the buttons on his shirt and said, "I met Logan in Wyoming in '43. I was thirteen and hunting a ghoul at a local hospital there, but I couldn't get into the places I needed to be, 'cause I was a kid. Logan caught me trying to sneak into the morgue." She let out a soft laugh at the memory, then sobered. "The hospital's abandoned now."

Sirius was so still she could hear his heart beating. Then, he said, "You still didn't tell me where."

She blinked, frowning. If she hadn't, it wasn't on purpose. "It's outside Casper."

He inhaled, held the breath for a second, then let it blow out noisily. Glancing up, she found him giving her a pitiful look. Rolling her eyes to the ceiling, she said, "It's Wyoming. What could happen?"

"You are just...begging to be taught a lesson," he growled, voice low and resonant in her ears. "Assume it'll go wrong before you assume it'll go right."

"Did you seriously just say that to me?" she asked, then bit back a smile.

He snarled at her, then grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. His jaw worked for a second, until he said, "And what exactly am I supposed to be doing while you're meeting the Hardy boys?"

She snorted, reluctantly amused. Biting her lip for a second, she said, "How do you feel about tattoos?"

"What? Like...generally?" He raised an eyebrow.

She sketched the shape of a pentagram over his heart. "Personally."

"Won't work," he said offhandedly. When she frowned at him, he said, "My body gets rid of the ink. Same way it got rid of the silver. Bleeds it out or whatever."

Like it wanted to prove his point, Galloway watched as a speck of metal was forced out of his half-healed cheek. He used a claw to knock the fleck away.

"Well damn," she sighed.

Pressing his mouth into an interested line, he said, "Care to explain?"

She shrugged. "If a ghost can jump your bones, a demon definitely can. I was hoping for the possibility of an anti-possession tattoo for you, since the charms I have are all made of silver."

He looked like he wanted to argue, then frowned, rubbing at his mouth like he remembered the taste of the blessed salt. Scowling thoughtfully, he said, "If you can find one made of stone or wood, that won't burn me."

"Great," she muttered. Standing up, she pulled him to his feet and looked around the room, which had been turned into a disaster area. "We better leave before someone finds us and the horror movie we've committed here."

Sirius rolled his eyes. He listened at the door, then murmured, "We're good."

Cautiously, he cracked the door open, then motioned for her to follow and they slipped away from the motel. They walked in silence toward the abandoned factory Galloway had left the car in, until Sirius said slowly, "There's another option, though, I'm not crazy about it."

"Okay?" Galloway drew the word out curiously, looking over her shoulder every few seconds. The empty streets seemed sinister to her.

He grimaced, rubbing at his chest right where she had drawn out the pentagram. He showed his teeth in a small snarl, then said, "The demon blade. That's the one thing that'll leave a permanent scar."

Her breath caught for a second as she stared at him. He didn't meet her gaze until she said, "No."

With an incredulous look, he demanded, "What's the difference between that and a needle drilling into your skin?"

She shook her head, walking just a little faster. Hissing, she said, "The difference is that in one, some guy with experience is doing it! In the other..." She blanched. "I'm not carving a pentagram into you!"

He rolled his eyes. "That's sweet, really. But that's not going to ruin my day like a demon jumping on board would."

She just shook her head. There was absolutely no way she would be able to do it. There was no way she could hurt him. Not after all he'd suffered. Not now, when she loved him.

"Dammit, Galloway." He sighed. "Why not?"

Her mouth pressed into a thin line. Glaring at him, she demanded, "Could you do it to me?"

This brought him up short. He recovered quickly and, keeping a remarkably straight face, said, "If I knew it would save you more pain farther down the line, then yeah."

"You are such a liar," she hissed. She shook her head violently. "Just drop it, Sirius. I won't do it."

"Then what are we going to do?" he asked, grabbing her wrist and jerking her to a stop. He glared down at her, making her glare back, until he rolled his eyes and let her go. "Maybe I'll just ask the Hunter. Or one of your witches. I'm sure they wouldn't have any qualms about it."

"They'd be more likely to shove it through your heart," she grumbled, starting to walk again, playing with her keys.

"Then I guess that leaves you," he said triumphantly.

She spun around and put her hand on his chest, forcing him to stop. Closing her eyes for a second, she let out a slow breath, then looked up at him, intentionally making her expression soft. Making her voice a little rough, she said, "Please don't ask me to hurt you."

Sirius stared down at her, not blinking for a long moment. She held his gaze, knowing she wasn't playing fair. It was weird to actually watch him cave—to watch that steel will of his crumble just for her. Nodding, he swore lightly before he kissed her. 

She returned the kiss, then laced her fingers through his and tugged him down the road, once again walking in silence. Hoping that this wasn't a foolish mistake on her part.

                                                                              ~~~

Galloway had her chin propped on her hand, her elbow on the rickety table. Sirius paced in front of her, the old linoleum on the chipped kitchen floor crackling under his feet.

The wallpaper peeled from the walls, sloughed off completely in some places. The floors were grey, splintery wood, some places stripped down to the plywood in the abandoned house they'd holed up in outside of Casper, about twenty miles away from the hospital she was supposed to meet Logan and the others at in an hour.

A headache pounded steadily at her right temple, pressing into the back of her eyeball. She and Sirius had been arguing on and off for the entire two day drive it took to get here.

Idly, she thought that it had been stupid to believe he would have become more agreeable just because their situation had changed. 

If anything, he had become even harder to handle.

She rubbed at her temple, steeling herself. "I'm not changing my mind, Sirius."

"Fine," he growled. "I would just like a decent reason why!"

An exhausted sigh gusted out of her. She folded her arms on the table, which creaked ominously, then rested her head on her forearms. Taking three deep breaths, she said, "I already explained why."

"They're not going to like it either way!" he argued. "So who cares if I'm there or not?"

Her palm was still stinging from where she had cut it to draw the protective sigils. Flipping her hand over, she exposed it to the cool air, pretending like that was doing anything to sooth it as it healed. 

"Me," she said evenly. "This is one of those 'I have to face up to it alone', kinds of things, Sirius. And I don't really need you hovering behind me glowering at all of them while I try to explain that they won't be able to see me for a while."

"Glowering," he repeated, tone nasty. There was a loud ripping sound and she turned her head to find claw marks in the wall nearest him. She closed her eyes and he said, "And what are you going to do if you get out of the car and there's another fucking Hellhound waiting for you? Or a demon?"

"I guess you'll get to say 'I told you so'," she answered, voice sour.

He snarled, the sound violent and she found herself being pulled to her feet. Fire and fury tumbled behind his blue eyes and she sagged, collapsing forward into him. He let out a surprised huff and caught her, his hands uncertain on her back. She felt a little bad about the dirty tactics, but at least he was no longer yelling.

Shaking her head, she mumbled, "All three of them will have gone over the place, demon and Hellhound proofing the crap out of it."

"So why do you have to drive by yourself?" he asked, his voice less combative. "Why?"

"Because you are starting to piss me off, despite the fact that I love you very much." She took his face in her hands. "Haven't you ever heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder?"

"Don't you understand I have a massive dependency problem?" he murmured back.

"That's not healthy," she said, trying to make her voice light.

"Neither's heroin, but here I am, no worse for wear," he shot back. He whined softly, pressing his face into her hair. "Why do you need to go by yourself?"

Closing her eyes, she finally said, "Because saying goodbye is hard enough without feeling guilty about the fact that I'm choosing you over them."

There was a moment where time and silence stretched out around them, pliable as taffy. 

Sirius put a finger under her chin, tilting her face up to his. Looking grave, he said, "If I was any kind of good, I'd say you shouldn't have to choose, wouldn't I?"

"I knew what kind of monster I was letting in," she responded, repeating something he had said back in Missouri. 

His mouth pressed into an unhappy line, but he just nodded. He shook his head once, then leaned down, kissing her. His fingers threaded through her hair, his mouth harsh against hers. She hissed when a fang punctured the skin of her lip and he drew back.

Gently, he touched her mouth, staining his fingers red. Galloway stared at him, taking in the dark shadows under his hollow eyes, the tight line of his mouth, the severe set of his jaw.

Ignoring how it stung, she kissed him again. His tongue slid over the cut and she murmured, "I'll be back."

"Okay, Arnold," he said as sarcastically as he could manage. He traced a finger over her cheekbone. "If you're not back in two hours, I'm coming after you."

"Deal," she said. Kissing him one last time, she smiled as reassuringly as she could before grabbing her jacket and heading out into the crisp late afternoon air.

She got into the car, frowning at the blood still stuck in the seams of the seats. Not looking at the house, she backed out of the drive, making her way toward the hospital. The solitude finally gave her the time to consider what she could possibly say to them. 

What she could say to Logan.

Of the three of them, she was most worried about how this would affect him. She knew he saw her as a sister. Hell, Logan had practically raised her, helping her navigate the balancing act her life had become.

Anything she didn't already know about hunting he taught her. Any time she was hurt, he patched her up. He'd given her a place to stay off the streets. Fed her. Clothed her. Logan was the family she never got to have. The longest she'd ever gone without seeing him was six months. And she'd still made it a point to call him at least twice a week.

Getting on a two-lane highway that would take her right to the old hospital, she let herself get lost in thought, trying to prepare herself for what came next.

A flash of memory brought up an image of Sirius' panicked eyes. There was no way she could leave him like that. She slumped back in the seat. 

Her life was impossible.

Since she would rather be doing anything else, it took no time at all to pull up to the fence surrounding the condemned building. Galloway pulled around to the far side of the hospital, driving carefully over the lumpy field surrounding it.

She quickly killed the lights and waited until her eyes were fully adjusted to the dimness around her. The sun had been down for maybe twenty minutes and the moon had yet to rise.

Swiftly, she went to the trunk and grabbed her gun, checking the magazine before she tucked it into her belt. Then, she grabbed what appeared to be a miniature lasso, the thin rope glittering dully at her.

Silver. Most of the time, she loved the stuff. This would hold a demon if anything crazy happened.

Looping it around her wrist, she grabbed a pair of bolt cutters, hoping she wouldn't need anything else. She shut and locked the trunk, giving the roof of the car a goodbye pat before she made her way to the fence.

A 'No Trespassing' sign tried to dissuade her as she efficiently snipped through several of the wire links near one of the metal posts. Stopping for a second to make sure there was no one around, she slipped through the opening, carefully pulling the wire back into place and securing it with a zip-tie to avoid attention.

She jogged across the desolate parking lot to a side door, then swore when it was locked. Rolling her eyes, she extracted her lock picks and went to work. After a long moment—her progress was slowed by the irresistible urge to check over her shoulder every few seconds—the lock clicked and she slipped inside.

The darkness pressed in on her and she scrambled for her phone, clicking the flashlight on. Her heart pounded in her throat, remembering how Khali had turned into nothing more than a thick darkness. 

The only thing revealed was an abandoned hallway.

She took two calming breaths, shaking her head at herself. Muttering, she said, "Maybe Caleb was right. Maybe I am getting jumpy."

Letting out a nervous laugh, she found a directory and a map, trying to find her way to the ground floor. Walking quickly past the gaping dark holes of the open doors, her steps echoing too loudly off the tile floors, she found the nearest stairwell, then hesitated.

There was something creepy about the stairwell that made a shiver skitter down her spine. Pressing her mouth into a thin, determined line, she drew her gun and clicked the safety off, racking it to make sure there was a round in the chamber. Straining her eyes to try and see beyond the flashlight, she started down the stairs, hugging the wall so she could see down the next flight before she actually got there.

Relaxing as she got nearer to the floor she needed, she checked the time and frowned when she realized she was a little late. She picked up her pace and turned to go down the final flight.

She looked down to find the first step and slammed right into something very warm and alive. With a defensive snarl she struggled to raise the gun, but a familiar voice said, "I haven't done anything to make you want to shoot me yet."

"Rhys!" she breathed out, slumping in relief.

He smiled down at her, looking ghoulish in the weak illumination from the flashlight and she pulled away from him. Giving her a smirk, he said, "Logan and Caleb were getting antsy. Wanted me to come and find you."

"How did you find me?" she asked, putting the safety back on the gun before she tucked it away. "This place is a labyrinth." 

He tapped the side of her head, making her bat his hand away with a scowl. Still with that smirk, he said, "You're still very loud."

She rolled her eyes. "Where's Logan? I need to talk to him. To all three of you, actually."

"I know," Rhys said darkly.

Closing her eyes, she let out a tired sigh. "It's the only thing I can think to do right now. And, honestly, I have a better chance of surviving any run in with a demon or another Hound if I'm with Sirius."

"I know," he repeated, making her look up at him in shock. He shrugged. "Just because I don't like him doesn't mean I don't understand the advantages he possesses."

"You haven't even met him," she pointed out, fighting through her surprise. She had honestly expected Rhys to argue. Whether it was because he cared or whether it was because he was just contrary was anyone's guess.

She didn't have a response for a quick surrender.

"I know enough to know I wouldn't like him," Rhys said.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. He broke off at a door on the first floor and led her down another long, dark hallway. Shivering, she moved a little closer to Rhys, who raised a curious eyebrow. She muttered, "I'm not too crazy about the dark."

Anyone else might have laughed at a Hunter who was uncomfortable in the dark, but he knew about Khali. At least, she assumed that he did. For once, the witch didn't say anything mocking.

He led her into what had been a break room and Galloway found herself enveloped in the spicy, herbal scent she would always associate with home. She knotted her hands in the back of Logan's coat, trying not to cry as she buried her face in his chest.

But eventually she had to croak, "Logan, I can't breathe."

He clung to her for a moment longer, then let her go, running his hands up and down her arms. His eyes narrowed and he cupped her face, looking at her mouth. A flush crept over her and she said, "We ran into some demons at a diner a few days ago."

Logan narrowed his dark eyes suspiciously, but didn't say anything to contradict her.

After hugging her one more time, he stepped back and she looked across the room to find Caleb slumped in one of the old, threadbare armchairs, looking pale. Bandages wound up his arms, making it look like he was just wearing a white long-sleeve under his dark t-shirt. She bit her lip and went over to him, making a small sound of concern when he stood up.

He surprised her by pulling her into a warm hug and she could feel the thick fabric of more bandages wrapped around his chest under the thin material of the shirt. Closing her eyes, she said, "Caleb, I'm so sorry. If I'd known..."

He shrugged, wincing as he sat back down and rasped, "I've had worse."

"Bullshit," muttered Logan, who was leaning against a counter, his arms crossed as he glared at the two Hunters.

Caleb shrugged, giving the witch that smartass grin of his. He said, "Maybe not. But now I know you, so who cares."

"Me!" Galloway growled, then sat on the arm of his chair.

Rhys pulled himself up onto the counter next to Logan and said, "I don't really want to be here any longer than we have to be—"

Caleb nudged her with an elbow and stage-whispered, "He's scared of the creepy old hospital."

Rhys calmly flipped him off and Galloway cracked a smile. Looking down, she said, "I actually kind of agree with him, seeing as how I spend an inordinate amount of time in creepy old hospitals."

The Hunter laughed, then groaned, clutching at his side. In the stark light of the lantern Logan had most likely thought to bring, she could see severely dark shadows under his eyes.

"Galloway has something she needs to tell you two," Rhys said without any preamble, and she scowled at him. Her scowl deepened into a snarl when he just smiled serenely. "I'm sure you want to hurry up and get back to your newest toy."

Caleb shuddered, then turned his head away. Galloway stood up and walked into the middle of the room, feeling all of their eyes on her. She folded her arms defensively and hissed, "He's not a toy. And should you really be saying anything considering that you were a very short-lived fling yourself?"

Rhys' mouth dropped into an 'oh' shape, his eyes widening dramatically as he gave her a mock hurt look, the sarcasm practically dripping off of him. Logan was rubbing at his forehead appearing a little ill and Caleb was staring a hole into the floor.

She swallowed hard, biting nervously at her lip. Shaking her head, she blurted out, "Sirius and I are going to be a little MIA for a while."

Dead silence met her announcement as both Logan and Caleb finally looked at her. Practically tripping over her words, she said, "Demons are attacking us. Just us now since Caleb's contract has been dropped and that's how it'll stay as long as I'm not around. Hell doesn't care about you. It wants me. I don't want any of you to get hurt, and he's really the only one of us that can go toe to toe with another Hound right now."

"Why don't you tell them the whole truth?" Rhys asked, his tone just a little too innocent, and she wondered how hard it would be to duct tape his mouth shut.

Then she remembered she'd left her duct tape in the car.

He grinned at her, and anger settled over her like a fine mist. Through clenched teeth, she said, "I don't want any of you at more risk than you have to be. And being around me right this second is just begging to get your heart torn out."

"Not that one," Rhys said, and she looked around for anything nearby that she could throw at him.

"Galloway?" Logan questioned, making her look up.

His soft expression made guilt pour through her and she looked down, addressing the floor when she choked out, "I can't trust that Sirius won't hurt any of you to keep me safe."

"But you're still picking him," Caleb chimed in, his voice flat. "Knowing what you know about him, you'd still feel safer with him?"

She scrubbed her hands over her face, then looked up at him. Shrugging, she said, "I can't change how I feel about him. And it's not really about me being safe. I can't let any of you get hurt." They all scoffed and she raised her voice, finishing with, "So this is what I can do to make that happen, whether we're talking about the demons... or about Sirius."

Shaking her head, she looked up at the ceiling, then down at them again. "It's not what I want. I don't think it's the best thing. But right now I don't have a whole lot of options."

Logan wasn't looking at her.

Caleb was.

She didn't know which of those two things was worse.

They all looked toward the door when Rhys said, "They're going to go get a demon blade while the three of us work on closing the gates. You can't argue that that's a bad plan."

Galloway's mouth fell open as she stared at him. The corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. Quietly, he said, "What? I'm not always an asshole."

A small laugh was startled out of her and she nodded before peering cautiously at Logan.

He rubbed his eyes, then glared at her. Shaking his head, he said, "I hate this."

"I really don't want our last conversation to be an argument," she said.

"It won't be the last one," he said harshly. Then he sighed and beckoned for her to come over to him. She did so cautiously and he pulled her into another hug, his chin resting on her head. Gruffly, he said, "Call when you can, just so I know you aren't dead. Get the damn knife and come back home, okay?"

"Sure thing," she mumbled, her voice muffled by his shirt. Then, she said, "Rhys warned you, didn't he?"

"As soon as you got close enough to the hospital," Caleb confirmed. "Argued your case for you."

She pulled away from Logan and turned right into the Hunter. Craning her head back to look at him, he scowled and said, "Even for a Hunter this is stupid and risky."

"Those are my middle names," she tried to joke. Caleb tried to give her a smile.

They stood awkwardly for a moment, then Logan held out a set of keys. "The Audi was the closest thing to inconspicuous you own."

She swapped keys with him. Shaking his head, he warned, "If he gets you killed—"

"He might as well high tail it to Hell," Caleb interrupted. "Or we'll send him there the hard way."

She crossed her arms and glared at them. Muttering under her breath, she turned to the door, letting Rhys lead the way out of the hospital. Loudly, she said, "Maybe it's not you I'm protecting. Maybe it's him."

Caleb laughed quietly under his breath and she growled.

Back outside, the moon had finally risen, casting a silver light over everything and she stood next to her car, shivering slightly.

Logan gave her another anaconda hug. "We'll see you soon. Then we'll get this all straightened out."

She nodded and he started to make his way toward the GTO without another word. Logan had never been one for long goodbyes. 

Rhys tilted his head and said, "Don't kill me if I happen to pop in."

He tapped his temple, indicating a dream visit and she said, "Hey, my head's a dangerous place. Enter at your own risk."

Rhys laughed and said, "That goes for more than just your head, darling."

He laughed again when she flipped him off and she smiled, giving him a nod. Rhys nodded back, then loped after Logan, catching his brother before he got to the car.

This left her with just Caleb.

The Hunter rubbed at the back of his neck, his boot scuffing the ground awkwardly. She leaned against the car and said, "I know, Caleb. I know. But you're going to have to trust that if he does anything, he'll keep me safe."

"How do you know that?" he muttered, glaring at the ground, his chocolatey hair falling in his face.

A dozen memories of proof swirled up. "I just do. Look, I'll see you again soon. And I'll have something that can permanently kill a demon when I do."

"So they really do exist?" he asked, finally looking up. At her raised eyebrow, he said, "Hunters have been trying to find a demon blade for forever. Most gave up, thinking it was just an actual myth."

"You just have to know where to look," she said, tilting her head back when he drew nearer. "We'll make it through, Caleb. That's what we do."

"No. Most of us die bloody," he said contemplatively. "Just try not to be one of the majority."

With that, he leaned in and kissed her, his hand on the side of her neck, thumb brushing her jaw. Galloway turned her face to the side after a moment, his stubble scratching against the sensitive skin of her mouth.

Caleb stayed where he was, looking down at her. Eventually she returned his gaze. Shaking her head, she gently removed his hand and said, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Me too," he said lightly.

Standing on her toes, she kissed his cheek, then got into the car, pulling away carefully.

She watched him in the rearview mirror until the darkness swallowed him, then turned her gaze back to the road, pressing harder on the accelerator.

Tears made tracks down her face and her heart hurt, but at the very least her conscience was a little lighter with the knowledge that Sirius wouldn't be responsible for any of them getting hurt.