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.
"Dean" Dean looks to Sam. "I got a text from Chuck, he says it's an emergency" Sam holds up his cell, Dean shoots him a look. "I know...." Dean sighs and turns to Erika who shrugs at him.
"It's Chuck" she tells him. "You have to go, it could be important, love" she kisses him. "I'll be here" she promises him, he nods and kisses her cheek before standing. He looks to Sam as he passes him heading towards Erika's bedroom.
................................
The next day: Sam stands with Becky and Chuck.
"Look, Sam. I'm not gonna lie. We had undeniable chemistry" Becky tells him. "But like a monkey on the sun, it was too hot to live. It can't go on. Chuck and I, we found each other. My yin to his proud yang. And well, the heart wants what the heart wants. I'm so so sorry"
"Yeah, Sam. Sorry" Sam grimaces at them both. Chuck smiles sheepishly at him.
"Will you be all right?" Becky asks, Sam puts on a sad face and sighs heavily.
"Honestly I don't know. I'll just have to find a way to keep living, I guess" He answers.
"God bless you"
"Ok. Oh, hey. Chuck. If you really wanna publish more books, I guess that's ok with us"
"Wow. Really?" Chuck asks.
"No, not really. Erika has fangs and she will find you" Sam threatens.
"Ok, ok. No more books"
"See you around" Sam turns and begins to walk away.
"Sam! Wait, one more thing. In chapter 33 of Supernatural Time is on my Side, there's that girl Bela? She was British, and a cat burglar"
"Yeah I know"
"She stole the Colt from you and then she said she gave it to Lilith, remember?"
"Yeah"
"Well you know she lied right, she didn't really give it to Lilith."
"Wait, what?"
"Didn't you read the book? There was this one scene where Bela gives the Colt to a demon named Crowley. Lilith's right-hand man. And I think her lover too"
"Crowley" Sam looks to Chuck. "Didn't it occur to you to tell us this before?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't remember. I'm not as much of a fan as she is"
"Becky, tell me everything" Becky gives Sam a huge smile and begins laughing.
.....................................
Dean leans against the Impala, lost in thought. He smiles slightly.
"You ok?" Sam asks approaching.
"Yeah, you know? I think I'm good"
"Well, you're not going to believe it, but I got a lead on the Colt"
"What?
"Long story, I'll tell you on the way back to Erika's"
"What are we waiting for?" Dean teases, they get in, slam the doors and cruise out of the car park.
.................................
An old man gets out of an expensive car, digs a hole in the dirt and gravel, buries a box, and stands up.
"Mr. Pendleton, I presume" Pendleton turns around to see a man who wasn't there before. "Name's Crowley"
"In my negotiations, I was, uh, dealing with a very young, attractive, uh, lady"
"Yes. I know. But you, piggy bank, you are a big fish, and I wanted to do you the honor of sealing this deal personally"
"She said the deal would be sealed with a kiss"
"That's right" Pendleton stares. Crowley grins.
"No, I mean, she said—I don't..."
"Your choice. You can cling to six decades of deep-seated homophobia, or give it up and get a complete bailout for your bank's ridiculous incompetence" Crowley is up in Pendleton's personal space now.
"There are just things that I..."
"Going once"
"I don't think so...."
"Going twice"
"All right! All right" Crowley pulls Pendleton in. "No" Crowley kisses him anyway. Castiel is observing from a distance, on the phone.
"Got him" Crowley releases Pendleton. Castiel speaks into the phone. "The demon Crowley is making a deal; even as we speak, it's—going—down"
...................
Dean is on the phone. Sam leans against Erika's desk, she stands looking out the window.
"Going down? Right. Okay, Huggy Bear, just don't lose him" Dean teases, Erika smirks as Sam shoots him a look.
"I won't lose him.
.............
"Damn you" Pendleton turns to walk back to his car.
"Enjoy the obscene wealth. See you in ten years" Crowley fiddles with a cell phone while he walks, then vanishes. Castiel follows him, vanishing as well.
..............
At a mansion: Castiel is still on the phone.
"I followed him. It's not far, but—it's layered in Enochian warding magic" The wall is covered in blue-white geometric designs. "I can't get in"
...............
Erika smirks an takes the phone from Dean.
"That's okay, love, you did great. I'll take it from here" she tells Castiel before hanging up, Dean raises an eyebrow.
"Will you now?" he asks her, she smirks at him.
.................
Lindsey watches the impala drive away from the bar.
.................
Crowley pours himself a drink with lemon and watches a black-and-white film involving Nazis.
.................
A young woman in a dress approaches Crowley's mansion gate and presses a button on the intercom.
"Hello?"
"Hello. My car broke down. I—I need some help"
"I'll be down in a minute" The young woman turns around to wait; it's Erika. The gate swings open and two men approach.
"Evening, pretty lady. Get yourself on in here" they tell her, Erika smirks and turns around. Their eyes widen, Erika vamp-speeds behind them, shoves her hands into their chests and rips out their hearts. Sam and Dean head through the gates behind her as she throws the hearts down.
"Nice work, Eri" Dean tells her.
"Thanks, love" she smiles back at them, Sam pulls out wire cutters from his bag.
"Okay. Shall we?" he asks them.
................
Crowley is still watching his film when the electricity cuts out. He leaves the room.
"It's Crowley, right?" Sam asks.
"So. The Hardy Boys finally found me. Took you long enough" Sam is holding Ruby's knife and Dean a shotgun. Erika is not in sight. Crowley approaches, stopping when he sees his rug is rumpled. He looks underneath; a devil's trap has been drawn on the bottom of the rug. "Do you have any idea how much this rug cost?" Two men grab Sam and Dean from behind, disarming them and pinning their arms. Crowley holds up the Colt. "This is it, right? This is what it's all about" Crowley aims the gun at Dean, then adjusts his aim and shoots both men. "We need to talk. Privately" Crowley leads Dean and Sam into another room, where Erika is sat at his desk, Crowley raises an eyebrow at her. "I didn't invite you in," he tells her.
"You're dead, love" she corrects. "Therefore that rule does not apply" she swings her legs off of his desk and stands, Crowley holds up the Colt.
"Do you know how deep I could have buried this thing?" Crowley waves a hand; the door slams shut. "There's no reason you or anyone should know this even exists, except that I told you"
"You told us"
"Rumors, innuendo, sent out on the grapevine"
"Why? Why tell us anything?" Sam asks. Crowley aims at Erika this time. Dean takes a small step forward.
"I want you to take this thing to Lucifer and empty it into his face," Crowley tells her.
"Uh-huh, okay, and why exactly would you want the devil dead?" She asks him back.
"It's called..." Crowley puts the gun down. "Survival. Well, I forgot you two at best are functioning morons...."
"You're functioning...morons..." Dean mumbles, they all shoot him a look.
"Lucifer isn't a demon, remember? He's an angel" Erika reminds them. "An angel famous for his hatred of humankind. To him, you're just filthy bags of pus" Dean shoots her a look this time, she shrugs.
"If that's the way he feels about you, what can he think about us?" Crowley adds.
"But he created you" Sam points out.
"To him, we're just servants. Cannon fodder. If Lucifer manages to exterminate humankind, we're next. So, help me, huh? Let's all go back to simpler, better times, back to when we could all follow our natures. I'm in sales, dammit! So what do you say if I give you this thing, and you go kill the devil?" Crowley holds out the Colt, handle first. Dean and Sam glance at each other. Crowley wiggles the gun. Sam hesitantly reaches out to take it.
"Great"
"Great"
"You wouldn't happen to know where the devil is, by chance, would you, love?" Erika asks, Crowley looks to her.
"Thursday, birdies tell me, there's an appointment in Carthage, Missouri" He answers, Sam glances at Dean and nods.
"Great" Sam puts the barrel between Crowley's eyes and pulls the trigger. It clicks. Sam stares, surprised; Crowley stares back, impassive.
"Oh, yeah, right, you'll probably need some more ammunition" Crowley goes into his desk.
"Oh, uh, excuse me for asking, but aren't you kind of signing your own death warrant? I mean, what happens to you if we go up against the devil and lose?" Dean asks.
"Number one, he's going to wipe us all out anyway. Two, after you leave here, I go on an extended vacation to all points nowhere. And three, how about you don't miss, okay! Morons!" Crowley throws something at Dean, who catches and opens it; bullets for the Colt. Dean looks up; Crowley's gone. Sam sighs.
...................
Five full shot glasses in a row next to a row of three upside-down shot glasses, a gap, and a full shot glass. Another glass is placed upside-down in the gap. Jo drinks from a beer bottle. Ellen drains the fifth and puts it back upside-down.
"All right, big boy"
"Well" Castiel drains all five of his in a row. Ellen stares. "I think I'm starting to feel something" Jo gawks and grins.
....................
Sam and Dean are sitting at opposite sides of Bobby's desk, both with beer bottles, Dean watches Erika outside of the house on the phone.
"It's gotta be a trap, right?" Sam asks.
"Sam Winchester, having trust issues with a demon. Well, better late than never"
"Thank you again for your continued support"
"You're welcome" They clink bottles and drink. "You know, trap or no trap, we got a snowball's chance, we gotta take it, right?" Dean asks.
"Yeah, I suppose"
"Besides, I'm not sure it is a trap. Check it out. I mean, Carthage is lit up like a Christmas tree with Revelation omens. And look at this" Dean pushes some papers at Sam. "There's been six missing persons reported, in town, since Sunday. I think the devil's there"
"Okay"
"Look, when you think about it...you can't come with" Dean tells him, Sam rolls his eyes.
"Dean"
"Look, I go against Satan and screw the pooch, okay. We've lost a game piece. That we can take. But if you're there, then we are handing the devil's vessel right over to him. That's not smart"
"Since when have we ever done anything smart?"
"I'm serious, Sam"
"So am I. Haven't we learned a damn thing? If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it together" Dean and Sam look at each other for a long moment. Dean looks away first.
"Okay. But it's a stupid frigging idea" Dean looks past Sam back to Erika, Sam looks too.
"You're not worried about what Gabriel said, are you?" Sam asks.
"No" Dean shakes his head. "You heard Cas..." Dean adds. "Plus...she's Erika, she'll be fine" Dean stands and leaves the house to stands with Erika on the porch, she leans on the railing and looks out over the salvage yard. He leans next to her, she rests her head on his shoulder. Bobby taps on the window behind them, they both look to him, he nods for them to go into the house, Dean takes Erika's hand and walks in with her.
"Everybody get in here! It's time for the lineup. Usual suspects in the corner" Bobby shouts for the others, Sam comes in, then Ellen.
"Oh come on, Bobby. Nobody wants their picture taken" Ellen tells him.
"Hear, hear" Sam agrees.
"Shut up. You're drinking my beer" Castiel enters while Bobby finishes fiddling with a camera on a tripod. Bobby rolls his wheelchair back. "Anyway, I'm gonna need something to remember your sorry asses by" Everyone is in the room now, getting in position for the picture, smiling.
"Ha! Always good to have an optimist around, love" Erika teases.
"Bobby's right. Tomorrow we hunt the devil. This is our last night on earth" Castiel corrects, the smiles disappear. The camera flashes.
.....................
Erika looks at the night sky, her hand cradled to her chest, touching Lucifer's ring on her finger.
"You can feel it, can't you?" Castiel asks standing behind her, Erika looks to him. "Inside of you, that....something extra"
"Pamela used to tell me" she answers looking back to the sky. "She used to tell me that I was special, that I contained a gift...It's not till recently that I've started to realize what it is...." she takes a breath.
"Lucifer must have given it to you when you were.....younger" Castiel offers. "A form of protection perhaps" Erika looks away. "You can use it," he tells her.
"A flame here and there" she corrects. "Nothing impressive"
"Because you are containing it, not embracing it" Castiel corrects. "Come on" he turns and heads inside, Erika watches him before following.
..........................
Dean leans on the kitchen counter watching Erika and Castiel in the study, sat close together, talking quietly, he shouldn't be jealous, but he totally is. The pair have a candle between them and Erika has her hand near the wick, she shakes her head at Castiel who nods and sets his hand over hers, Dean clenches his jaw. Erika stands and shakes her head with a shrug. Castiel watches her as she walks towards Dean, she smiles at him and touches his chest, Dean smiles back, instantly relaxed, he cups her cheek and kisses her. Castiel looks to the candle on the table, it's now lit. He looks to Erika and Dean.
"Want to go to bed, love?" Erika asks, Dean nods and brushes her hair back.
"Yeah, I would" he answers.