A year. That's how long it took for things to get royally screwed again. It hadn't been an easy year, with Sam gone and all, but Dean made the most of it. Lisa welcomed him into her home against his own expectations, and Ben was thrilled he finally had a father figure in his life. And even though Lisa told Dean Ben wasn't his biological son, they were the closest thing to a family he had. It was... normal. Good. But nothing good ever happened to a Winchester, and when it did, it never lasted long.
Dean never completely buried his Hunter persona. Once a Hunter, always a Hunter, after all. His father and Bobby had drilled that into him. He put up protections and kept his weapons in order, just in case. But nothing, absolutely nothing, could've prepared him for what came knocking on his door that night.
Sam was alive. He had been for that entire year, and to make things really interesting, so was Grandpa Samuel. Whatever, or whoever, brought Sam back brought their mom's dad back, too, for some freakish reason. Samuel rallied the Campbells (relatives on their mother's side whom Dean never even knew of) that were in the Hunting life, and they had all been going after whatever the hell went bump in the night until they stumbled upon a couple of Djinn who were terrorizing Dean's neighborhood.
After recovering from an attack and the shock of finding his brother and grandfather were alive, Dean's priority was getting Lisa and Ben to safety. So when they returned home from a night out, he brought them to Bobby's. That was the only place he knew to be safe and armed to the teeth. But his mentor didn't quite react how Dean had expected when he saw Sam. Meaning only one thing.
"You knew? You knew Sam was alive?"
Bobby sighed.
"Yeah..."
"How long?!"
"All year," admitted Bobby gruffly.
Dean halted his pacing and looked from his brother to his father's friend, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"
"And I'd do it again," said Bobby.
"Why?!" demanded Dean.
"Because you got out, Dean! You walked away from the life. And I was so damn grateful; you got no idea."
"Do you have any clue what walking away meant for me?!"
"Yeah, a woman and a kid and not getting your guts ripped out at age 30. That's what it meant."
"That woman and that kid, I went to them because you asked me to."
He pointed at Sam.
"I showed up on their doorstep half out of my head with grief. God knows why they even let me in. I drank too much. I had nightmares. I looked everywhere. I collected hundreds of books, trying to find anything to bust you out."
"You promised you'd leave it alone," said Sam, a little too accusatory.
"Of course, I didn't leave it alone!" snapped Dean. "Sue me!"
He turned back to Bobby.
"A damn year?! You couldn't put me out of my misery?"
"Look, I get it wasn't easy." Bobby looked Dean right in the eyes. "But that's life! And it's as close to happiness as I've ever seen a Hunter get. It ain't like I wanted to lie to you, son. But you were out, Dean."
"Do I look out to you?!"
Bobby fell silent at that. Sam just shrugged his shoulder and sighed as Dean rubbed his temples. He was so sick and tired of this whole mess. His eyes went to the kitchen, hoping to find a bottle of whiskey or just anything with alcohol, really. But what he saw instead made him freeze.
"Dean, you okay?" asked Sam, noticing the change in his big brother's expression.
He didn't answer and strode right to the kitchen to snatch a jacket from one of the kitchen chairs - a green leather jacket, which he recognized all too well.
"What the hell is this doing here?" he demanded, walking back to the living room with the jacket in his hands.
Bobby's head jerked toward Sam.
"You didn't tell him she's here?"
"Euhm... No? Was that important?" asked Sam back, confused.
"Son of a... Dean, wait!"
But Dean was already gone, having dropped the jacket on the floor in his haste. He heard female voices on the floor above and sprinted up the stairs, taking 3 steps at a time. Of course he had recognized Allegra's voice instantly, but it wasn't until he saw her that his heart skipped a beat and time froze around him. He couldn't fathom it. She was actually here, alive, and talking to Lisa.
Everything Dean had ever felt for the redhead came rushing back. The warmth she spread, that feeling of being protected, those stolen kisses... But then he also remembered the reason why he left. Why he was with Lisa instead of with her. That sensation of bliss disappeared, and now, Dean only felt anger. The women stopped talking when they saw him standing at the top of the stairs.
"Honey, you okay?" asked Lisa, confused and worried.
"Go inside the room," said Dean harshly.
"What? Why?"
"Lisa, please go inside!"
The brunette's eyes flashed from Dean to Allegra and then back to him. She backed up a bit, no doubt realizing that he would never react that way unless something was wrong. Allegra, on the other hand, stood very still and just stared at Dean. Her expression was a weird mixture of surprise, glee, and hurt. It made Dean even angrier than he already was. She had no reason whatsoever to look at him that way. Absolutely none.
"You." He pointed to Allegra. "Downstairs, right now."
But she stayed frozen in place. Dean almost charged at her were it not for Bobby suddenly coming up the stairs.
"Hey! You two wanna go all out; you take it outside!"
His authoritory voice seemed to do something to Allegra. She moved towards the stairs like she was in a trance. It was still too slow for Dean's liking, and when she was finally within reach, he grabbed hold of her upper arm and practically dragged her down the stairs with him. He heard Lisa gasp, hating that she was witnessing this, but he had to get Allega away from her asap. Thankfully, Bobby had it covered.
"They had an ugly fight about a year ago. Don't worry, they just need time. Talk. Maybe throw a punch or two. They'll be fine. Maybe."
***
He was back. Allegra couldn't believe it. She just couldn't believe Dean was actually here. She fell asleep at her desk about an hour ago and woke up when she suddenly sensed his soul close to her. At first, she thought it was a dream, like all the others she had before. But he was really back.
Allegra stared at the people walking up the house from her bedroom window. Why was he back? Dean got out. There was no reason for him to be back unless... a certain little brother decided to fess up.
So you finally let him know. Couldn't have given me a little heads-up first, huh? Dammit, Sam...
Allegra looked at the woman and boy that were walking with the Winchesters. Lisa and Ben, no doubt. She only very briefly locked on to the woman's soul about a week after Dean left, just to make sure she was good, but she had never actually seen either of them. All she knew was that Dean was happier around them. Like she wanted him to be...
Allegra stepped away from the window. She waited behind her closed door until she heard footsteps on the stairs. She took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped out into the corridor. Lisa and Ben halted when they saw her.
"Hi, I'm Allegra." She introduced herself, smiling. "I'm a friend of the Winchesters."
"Lisa Braeden," greeted Dean's girlfriend. "This is my son Ben."
"Nice to meet you. This room is empty. I'm sure Bobby won't mind you using it for now. And Dean will be up in a minute, I guess."
She stepped a bit further and opened the door. Lisa nudged her son inside and gave him her bag too. Dean's loud voice surged from downstairs. Not wanting Ben to hear, Lisa closed the door after he went in, staying outside with Allegra. There was something about how the dark-haired woman was looking at her that made Allegra feel a bit uncomfortable.
"So... Allegra, right? How exactly do you know Dean again?"
"Oh, we just both know Bobby," answered Allegra quickly. "I help out sometimes with his... job. And he kind of took me in, too. He's basically the uncle I never had."
"But you have known Dean a long time now?"
"Not that long. Couple years only."
Lisa took a step closer and leaned in.
"Euhm... Just to get a possible misunderstanding out of the way; were you and Dean ever...?"
"Oh no, n-nothing like that." Allegra tried to sound as airily as she could.
Lisa sighed, visibly relieved.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was claiming him or something. It's just that I always assumed you were an old girlfriend or the one that got away or that maybe something happened to you. I caught him looking at your picture once, and..."
"Wha- Picture? What picture?"
"On his phone." Lisa tilted her head. "Didn't you know?"
Allegra stared at Dean's girlfriend. What picture was she talking about? When did Dean even...? And he looked at it? Even after...?
"I'm no one," she said softly. "Honest, I'm not. We... We're not... I-I mean, we never... Nothing happened between me and..."
His name fell away when Allegra suddenly saw Dean at the top of the stairs. When did he come up? How long had he been standing there? Had he heard them talk? Everything around Allegra faded into nothing. She forgot about Lisa, who stood right next to her but backed away for some reason. About Ben, who was probably eavesdropping on the other side of the door, and about Sam and Bobby, who still had to be downstairs. She even forgot about what she did to make Dean leave.
Voices resonated around Allegra, but the words didn't register. She was oblivious to what was going on, but she didn't care. All she saw, all she knew, all she cared about was the man in front of her. Her body moved on its own. Slowly, she made her way to Dean, fully intending to hug him, even though his girlfriend was right there. It had been so damn long since she had held him in her arms, and she wanted to feel him. She needed to feel him.
But Allegra was roughly awoken from her daze when Dean suddenly grabbed her by her arm. He dragged her downstairs and outside, pushing her off the porch and into the salvage yard. She cried out when he threw her on the ground.
"Auch! Winchester, what the hell?!"
She wanted to push herself up but stiffened as she looked right into the barrel of his gun. Had he completely lost his mind?!
"You did this, didn't you?!" accused Dean harshly. "I told you to keep the damn Cage closed, Allegra! I warned you!"
"Wha- Oh my God, no! Dean, please listen."
"How d'you do it, huh? Got the hang of your Archangel mojo? Use your plagues on Bobby so he'd give up the rings?"
"What? No! Why would you think I would do something like that?!"
"You're capable of just about anything," spat Dean back. "Just like every other freak."
Allegra exploded. She crawled up to her feet, and Dean pointed his gun right at her heart. It was only inches away from her chest.
"You stuck-up arrogant bastard! Like you're so different! Michael's meat suit, Castiel's pet, you're no better than me! We're both part of the same freakshow, Dean! We've both cheated and killed, but at least I have the decency to feel guilty about it!"
Allegra noticed Sam and Bobby over Dean's shoulder. They were watching them from the porch. She could tell Bobby was on edge by his fidgeting, but not Sam. There was a peculiar, serene expression on his face. Like he was enjoying a movie instead of witnessing his brother and occasional Hunting-partner fighting each other. But Allegra didn't care if the whole damn world was watching them. She had done more than enough for Dean Winchester already. Whatever good feeling she had about him earlier was gone, just because he said the wrong thing... because he simply didn't know any better... because of her. And that just infuriated her more.
"You should be grateful Sam's back, but no, here you are, ready for the next kill, just assuming I had something to do with it! If it weren't for me, you'd still be rotting six feet under, torturing people in Hell as Alastair's bitch!"
"Shut up!"
"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have that perfect Stepford family you have now!"
"Allegra, I'm warning you!"
"You goddamn selfish hypocrite!"
A gunshot silenced the pair. For a minute, Allegra thought Dean had actually shot her, but she didn't feel anything. She looked around and saw Bobby standing between them and the porch with his gun aimed up. Dean lowered his own weapon, looking just as surprised as Allegra was.
"That's enough from the both of you!" growled Bobby. "What the hell's the matter with you? Acting like a couple of children. No, actually, I take that back; children behave better than you two idiots. Boy, don't you dare interrupt me; I'll shoot that cocky mouth right off you!"
Dean quickly shut his mouth when Bobby rounded on him. He knew better than to further anger Bobby when he was like this. So did Allegra.
"Now I'm only gonna say this once, so shut your cakeholes and listen. Dean, Allegra didn't know Sam was out until a few months ago. He asked her not to tell you, even though she really wanted to. Now, I know it's hard but use your bird brain for two seconds here; if she tortured me, would I have let her live here? If she opened the Cage, wouldn't the other prisoners have escaped, too, and picked up where they left off? Think before you open that big mouth of yours, smartass!
"And you, missy, you made Boy Wonder here think you were gonna open the damn thing, so really, can ya blame him for accusing you of doing exactly that? Just because you two can't be together don't mean you can push him away like you did. He's got the right to know why and the right to make a choice. You don't get to decide that for him. So you're gonna tell him what you told me, or so help me!"
Sam put a hand on Bobby's shoulder, making him step back and forcing him to breathe properly after that rant. They both waited for either Dean or Allegra to say something, but the pair ignored them and each other. Then, much to everyone's surprise, Dean made the first move. He put his gun away and faced Allegra, who kept her eyes fixed on the ground and her hands at her hips.
"Allegra, what's Bobby talkin' about?"
She glanced up between her lashes but kept her lips pressed together. Dean rolled his eyes in annoyance and threw his hands in the air.
"Fine! I overreacted, I'm sorry. There, you happy?"
Allegra scoffed and shook her head. Bobby was right, though. This wasn't on Dean. He was only going on what he knew. On what he believed to be the truth. For one split second, she considered confessing, but she was certain that if she did, it would only make things worse. So there was only one thing left to do. If Dean didn't stay away from her... Allegra would stay away from him.
"Oh, for godsakes, girl, just... No, no, don't... Balls!"
Bobby's loud curse echoed through the night as the hybrid Archangel disappeared before their eyes.
***
In the 2 minutes it took to run back inside and up the stairs to try and stop her, Allegra'd already taken her jacket from the living room, as well as her backpack with some clothes from her bedroom. Bobby figured she would pop up eventually, but she still hadn't returned when Dean checked in later that week. He didn't know what to make of her flight reaction but didn't have much time to worry about it.
After talking things over with Lisa, Dean took it upon himself to find a new home. Just start anew, hopefully without any Djinns or other things in the neighborhood, and further away from his Hunter life. Not that he wasn't grateful for Sam being alive and for connecting with his mother's relatives (though most of them were douchebags), but he committed to an apple-pie life and was damn well going to try his best to keep it.
Dean was alone in the garage, just about to take another of the smaller boxes to put in the Impala's trunk, already having sent off the big stuff with the van, when all of a sudden, he heard Foreigner's I Wanna Know What Love Is coming from the cassette player in the car. He nearly dropped the box in his hands when he heard the melody. He hadn't listened to this particular song in so long because... it was her song.
'It's my guilty pleasure song, sue me!'
That's what Allegra'd said when she stopped him from skipping to Cold as Ice when they were on the road to look at a case in Ohio. He'd shaken his head, but he let the song play for her (to Sam's great surprise 'cause it went against Dean's whole 'driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole'-rule). That was when he had...
Dean took out his phone and scrolled down his media gallery until he found the picture he took of Allegra. She was seated in the back of the Impala, her chin leaning on her hand and the light of the setting sun catching on her face and hair. She'd been so caught up in the song, golden eyes staring dreamily into nothing, that she never even noticed Dean took the picture.
Even though he'd been so mad at Allegra when he left Bobby's after Sam's (apparent) death, he hadn't deleted it. When not even Lisa and Ben could make him feel better, he would look at her image because, for some strange reason, she was still his greatest comfort. That warm, secure feeling she always inspired within him was the only thing that calmed him down when he was really struggling. Like on Sammy's birthday. He liked to believe that, despite everything, Allegra kept an eye on him during the past year. Maybe she had...
Dean sighed and sat back in the driver's seat. He replayed their fight over and over in his head. Why, just why, had he snapped like that? And then there was that thing Bobby said about her pushing him away because they couldn't be together and that he had the right to know why. It was all he could think of, morning, noon, and night. All the things they had in common, the things she confided in him, the things he confided in her... It just didn't make any sense for Allegra to push him away. It must've been something he'd done; why else would she...?
'I do want this, but I can't... I would never forgive myself if you died because of me.'
He groaned at the memory. Of course... That was it. It had to be. Allegra told him everything about herself except that. Not wanting to come across as prideful and eager, Dean hadn't pushed her on the subject, and they'd still been close, even with that standing between them. But things were definitely different since she returned after being off radar for months. She hung out with Sam more and hadn't allowed Dean to touch her again. As far as he could recall, he hadn't even been alone with her. Not until the drive to the cemetery where they faced Lucifer and Michael, and the day after, in her room...
Dean suddenly stiffened in his seat. He left Bobby's because of what Allegra wrote in... her notebook. She hadn't tried to take the damn thing back. Most people would at least try to get a personal thing like that back, but... she hadn't. But that meant...
Son of a bitch... Winchester, you're a goddamn idiot!
She wanted him to read it.