Episode: Season 8 - Southern Comfort Pt. 1

I trudged back to the Impala with Sam hot on my heels as we exited the diner. None of us had spoken since last night and frankly, I was scared of the direction that conversation would take. Sam was beyond upset and Dean just didn't want to talk about it.

"I caught wind of a case on this police scanner," Dean was saying as we walked up to him, "Sounds like our kind of thing,"

"I wasn't even gone ten minutes," Sam said slowly.

"Okay. That matters why?" Dean quipped back to his baby brother with a sarcastic smile plastered to his face.

"I don't know, Dean. How about because you haven't said a word to me since Prentiss Island?" Sam shot back, "And now, what? You want me to shut up and ride shotgun and act like nothing happened?"

"You want to talk about Benny? Fine. Let's talk," Dean conceded, his voice tight with emotion.

"Oh, here we go," I muttered under my breath as I sat the steaming cup of coffee I held in my hand onto the roof of Baby.

"Okay. How about he's a vampire?"

"He's also the reason I'm topside, not roasting on a spit in Purgatory. Anything else?"

"Don't pretend I don't get it. I know you had to do what you had to down there-" Sam began.

"I highly doubt you get anything about Purgatory," Dean cut him off harshly.

"But you're out now, and Benny's still breathing. Why?"

Dean was silent a moment, "He's my friend, Sam,"

I scoffed, "And what about our friend, Amy? She was what? Charity?"

"'Cause you sure didn't have a problem ganking her," Sam chimed in angrily.

Dean glared over the roof of the car at me, "Whose side are you on anyway?"

I pursed my lips in silence, glaring back at him before he continued.

"Well, I guess people change, don't they? We let that werewolf Kate go, didn't we?"

"She was different. She - you think Benny's different? He tell you he's not drinking live blood, or something?" Sam asked.

Dean made a face and he scoffed, "And you believe him. Wow,"

"Listen, Dean, when you're...when you live that lifestyle, it's easy to say you'll quit but quite another to actually do it. Regardless of the people you're hurting just to get your next 'fix'... Trust me, I know," I told him, murmuring the last part under my breath.

"Okay. No, you're right. People do change," Sam told him.

"Yeah. I got a vampire buddy, and you two turn your phones off for a year," Dean said to us, green eyes hard.

"SHUT UP! I am so sick of you trying to pin the blame on us!" I bit out venomously, surprising my boyfriend at the sudden outburst, "Yes, okay, we quit hunting for a year. But what did you expect a pregnant woman to do out there? I took off a year to raise your child, Dean Winchester. And your brother helped me raise her while we both believed you to be dead. Hunting was something we always did together... Why would I want to do it without you?"

Dean gazed back at me, shock registering on his face and I left him standing speechless as I climbed into the backseat of the Impala. The rest of the ride was silent as we made our way to our next case in Missouri - this one about a woman who'd dropped a car on her husband, killing him instantly. There, we met up with Garth who'd been working on the case already. It lifted my spirits slightly to see the goofy, gangly yet adorable hunter we'd all grown close to over the past couple of years. I convinced the boys to treat him to a quick lunch before we all headed off to get back on the case. While Dean and Garth went to research, Sam and I went to talk to Sara Alcott, the former girlfriend of the victim.

"Is it true you and Chester dated a ways back?" Sam was asking the older, blonde woman as we sat on her front porch - Sam on a chair and me on the swing.

"Well, that is an odd question for the FBI, isn't it?" she asked.

"You wouldn't believe the awkward questions I've had to ask people," Sam said, arching his eyebrows for emphasis.

Sara laughed lightly, nodding, "Well yes. Yes. Me and that old tomcat, Chester, we went to prom together. That's about it,"

"And that's all?" Sam frowned.

"Sam!" I admonished, slapping him on the arm to which the woman just chuckled.

" Well, I wasn't exactly a good girl, if that's what you mean," she started to say.

Sam and I exchanged uncomfortable, disgusted glances but said nothing as she continued with her story.

"Then after that, I-I thought that Chester and I were gonna be hot and heavy. But it just wasn't meant to be. And, uh, a week later, he eloped with Mary,"

"Did you speak much to Mary or Chester again after that?"

"Well, I'd see them about, you know - picnics and such. But Mary kept Chester on a pretty short leash. Honestly, I'd moved on, but it seems she never did," Sara explained.

"And why do you think that is?" I asked the older woman.

She only shrugged in response, "Well, I guess in her mind, I was a reminder of Chester's betrayal... So, if that's all..."

"Yes, uh, thank you very much for your help." Sam told the woman graciously be fore we both exited her porch.

We headed back to meet back up with Dean and Garth then but as we walked, my thoughts traveled back to Sara's story. And I couldn't help but get lost in my own memories once more, guilt and shame washing over me in waves.

A sigh escaped from between my plump, pink lips as my cheek brushed against the soft material beneath it. One arm was wrapped around me while the other was propped underneath his head. All the while, I could hear his steady heartbeat drumming softly in my ear, bringing me a sense of peace. My dark brown eyes roved over the clothes strewn across the carpeted floor of my apartment and I bit my lip.

"It's been a long time since I let myself go like that," I admitted quietly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he said softly in agreement.

His voice was deep, melodic in a way.

"You asked me a while ago...about losing someone. I did," I confessed, my words so soft they were almost a whisper in the near darkness, sheets tangled around the both of us, "I was so in love with him... And when he died 8 months ago...I felt like I lost part of myself,"

He said nothing, only tightened his grip around me, his fingers moving gently up and down my bare arm in a soothing manner.

"We were together forever... Or at least, it seemed that way. And then one day, Dean was just gone. Next thing I know, I'm pregnant and all alone. Just like that. And everywhere I looked, all I could see was judgement and pity and just this constant reminder of Dean everywhere. So I moved here with my daughter...and became even more of a hot mess than I already was..."

My eyes lifted up to meet his warm orbs then, already gazing down at me lovingly.

"And you danced with me."

He smiled slightly in response and brought his lips to my temple in a chaste kiss, the warmth of his skin, feel of his touch overwhelming my sense in an intoxicating rush of emotions.

Note: Don't worry, guys, the identity of that mystery man will be revealed in future chapters coming soon ;) Oh! And future warning for y'all - this book will be a lot longer than the past two, just to let you know :)