(1) The Devil's Hybrid (D. Winchester)

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Sam and Dean are both crashed on Erika's sofa when she finishes her work, she sighs, relieved, Dean looks to her and smiles.

"Hey" he greets, she smiles back.

"Hey yourself, love" he stands and moves to her, she grabs Dean's face and glares. "You scared me" she whispers, he touches her waist. "Don't do that again" she scolds and then presses her head to his chest, Dean wraps his arms around her and kisses her head. He looks to Sam who raises an eyebrow back at him. Dean strokes Erika's hair.

"Come on" he takes her hand. "Let's go to bed" she nods and walks away with him, he looks to Sam who nods.

......................

Erika sits on the edge of her bed pulling out the braids in her hair as Dean gets comfy on the bed behind her. He watches her warmly as she runs her fingers through her hair. He bites his lip before taking a breath.

"I love you," he tells her, Erika snaps her head around to him, eyes wide. "Before you say something...I just...I've never met a woman like you and I probably never will, and I love you" Erika turns and crawl up the bed to him, he watches her carefully, she kisses him climbing over his legs to get comfy. He frowns when she pulls back, she presses her forehead to his and closes her eyes.

"I love you too" she whispers to him. "But you need to know...." she leans back and hangs her head. "I've only ever loved one other person" she touches his chest. "And...it didn't end well" he cups her cheek and smiles.

"You kill him?" he asks, she shoots him a look.

"No. It was before I was made a vampire.....when I was...just an untriggered werewolf, I was sixteen and I thought...."

"That your love would conquer the world?" he asks. "Most sixteen-year old's do" she smiles a little. "So what happened?"

"He left" she answers. "And I was...heartbroken...." she sighs. "I've been with people and I've loved people like family but I've never...." she looks down. "Klaus said that I was damaged by what happened, so I denied myself that sort of connection with anyone else for...fear of it happening again" she smiles and then looks up at him. "Then I met you" he strokes her cheek. "And all these feelings, feelings I haven't felt since before I was a vampire start...coming to the surface and...now I am a vampire and we feel things differently....we feel things with such intensity is can drive us, it's like...being hit with a truck full of feelings" he smirks at her.

"A truck full of feelings?" he teases, she shoots him a look.

"I'm opening up here and you're going to joke?" she asks, he brushes her hair back.

"No, keep going," he tells her.

"I was afraid of feeling those things again, because.....because last time, they lead to my heartbreak, and I knew that if it happened again, it would be so much worse" she admits.

"That's what future you meant" he offers, she nods. "That it's okay to let yourself feel those things again with....me?" he asks, she nods.

"For more than a thousand years...." she bites her lip. "I have been unloved" he shakes his head and kisses her, threads his fingers into her hair to hold her to him.

"Not anymore" he whispers against her lips laying her backward and lays over her, he smiles at her brushing her hair from her face. "Not anymore" he repeats.

............................

Dean sits with his arm around Erika as they watch some tv movie. He kisses her head and pulls her closer to whisper sweet nothings in her ear. Sam hurries into the room with his duffle, he looks to them both, kind of hating that he has to drag Dean away from her, his brother needs these moments.