How to Save a Soul - ABANDONED

A few more hours and a few more books later there was a knock on the door, and when Kerica gave the go-ahead Dean popped his head in, "Hey, I just wa..." he stopped mid-sentence as he saw Kerica was rubbing Amalia's back, "Whoa, what's....oh," he stopped yet again when he saw the books strewn about. "You guys have been reading those /books/?" he groaned, "What sprung the tear fountain?"

"She finished 'Home' which is where you guys got saved by your mom's spirit at your old house," Kerica explained with a shrug, "Considering how bad it gets later it's nothing to me, but she was touched by it."

Dean racked his brain, trying to think back that far, and then groaned, "Oh, that. Okay....are you going to be okay, Amalia?"

Amalia wiped her eyes and face to be rid of the tears, sniffling a little before nodding to him. "Yeah, I'll be fine... Sorry about that." She smiled weakly, laughing slightly as she wiped her face again. "I didn't think I was going to react the way I did..."

"It's...uh...okay. Like Kerica said, it gets way worse," Dean shifted, "Um...yeah, so, I was just coming to tell you girls I'm heading out to grab some groceries so I can make dinner."

"Do you even know how to use a kitchen?" Kerica teased.

"Shut up, yes I do," Dean stuck his tongue out at her, feeling a sense of deja vu, "Anyway, I'm going. Sam's still out back, he's gathering wood and stuff so we can have a midnight bonfire."

"Be safe." She smiled and waved once he left, and then turned to Kerica with a small frown. "I feel like he's been avoiding talking to me about his past... I get he's not the kind of guy that shares his life story and feelings... But..." She paused, looking down at her feet. "I just want to know more about him, you know?"

"I guess that's why he's not really objecting to you reading the books," Kerica suggested, "He's giving his silent approval or something. Just give him time, Amalia. He cares about you, but he's much different than Sam. It's not you, okay?" she rubbed her back, "Just keep reading. He'll come to you when he's ready."

Amalia nodded and wiped her face again, a heavy breath leaving her nose before she smiled at her friend. "Okay..." She said, a lot more calmer now before picking up the next book.

~*~

"I love it! You're certainly husband material, you can actually cook," Kerica grinned widely at Dean as they sat at the dining table. Dean had made burgers on the stove and while he'd loaded his with sliced tomatoes, lettuce and cheese and many more things, hers was fairly simple, just the burger on a bun with cheese and ketchup Sam was digging into his second one already.

"I'm far from husband material," Dean gave her a raised eyebrow and he placed Amalia's burger on her bun, turning off the stove, "So does that mean Sam isn't husband material because he hasn't cooked for you, Princess?" he rolled his eyes and grabbed the cheese, "What else do you want on your burger, Lia? Just cheese like Miss Plain over here?" he ignored her sticking her tongue out at him.

"Sam doesn't balk at the idea of sharing his feelings, unlike you, Mr. Avoid The Subject," Kerica countered, "Besides, he hasn't told me he can or can't so I can't judge yet."

"I think I'll try the cheese with lettuce and pickles, please." Amalia spoke up with a smile, watching her boyfriend put her requested toppings on her hamburger before putting the top bun on it. She soon took a bite and her eyes rolled to the back of her head as a bright cheesy grin lit up her face. "This is delicious!" She giggled once she swallowed her fill, taking another bite.

Sam smirked at her reaction, chuckling softly. He heard Kerica's words once he took another bite of his burger, turning to her as he swallowed the mouthful of food. "I can cook, but I'm not as good as Dean."

Dean grinned at her reaction, "I'm glad you like it," he said, sitting down and biting into his own.

"Hey, kinda cooking is better than not being able to cook," Kerica giggled, "I can cook Mac n cheese and I can brown hamburger on the stove, then I can bake really well, but that's the extent of my cooking abilities."

Amalia swallowed her fill once she finished taking a bite, looking up to Kerica once she mentioned baking. "I bake too, but I've noticed that I'm really good at making pies, and nothing else. Everything else just ends up burnt." She laughed, about to bite into her hamburger before she noticed Dean staring at her with wide eyes. Slowly turning to him, she snickered. "I'm guessing you like pie?"

"Oh, yeah," Sam answered for him, swallowing his food. "He does have bad luck with not getting any though." He laughed.

"I'll just have to make some for you then." She promised, turning to her boyfriend with a smile.

"Pies are awesome," Dean nodded, "I'd love if you made me pie," he smirked at her.

"I'm sure you would," Kerica laughed at Dean then looked at Amalia, "I'm not good at pies. Though I could always show you how to cook other things while we're here" she admitted with a shrug, "Though my favorite pie is pumpkin around the holidays." Then to Sam she smiled, "I've noticed from our time together so far you're mostly a healthy eater, but do you have any sweets you like?"

"We should switch out who cooks every day we're here for dinner," Dean suggested, "I say dinner that way if you guys bake anything you have time throughout the day."

"I like that idea," Kerica agreed, "I certainly don't mind, I can find something to make."

Sam thought for a moment, then turned to her with a small shrug. "I'm honestly not much of a sweets person... But I do like chocolate fudge; that's my guilty pleasure." He chuckled.

Amalia smiled as she finished her hamburger, wiping her lips with her napkin. "Sound good to me." She giggled to Kerica, soon turning to Sam once he mentioned chocolate fudge. "I do too! Mama made them all the time during Christmas. She taught me the family recipe, so I could make them some time."

"There's something I like to make for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I basically use sweet yams, marshmallows and brown sugar," Kerica beamed, "We could probably pop by here again for Christmas? Unless of course we're on the other side of the states again."

Dean watched Kerica a bit, noticing how her eyes were hopeful. 'She didn't get a family experience growing up, did she?' He wondered to himself then shook his head, "Even if we are, we can probably jury rig an abandoned house or something to hunker down in."

Kerica's eyes lit up even more, "Okay! I like the thought of that."

Sam smiled at the way Kerica's face seemed to light up at the thought of spending Christmas with them, and it made him want that day to come a lot faster. He was already looking forward to spending the holidays with his girlfriend, and he would do anything to make that happen.

Amalia nodded in agreement, a bright smile forming on her face. "It's settled then." She giggled, clasping her hands together in excitement.

~*~

A couple more hours and a few books later, the girls were back outside with the boys around the campfire roasting smores. Though Kerica was sitting on Sam's lap, his arm hooked around her waist easily keeping her there. Her ass pressed against his ass, and she bit into her smore with a purposeful moan of approval. When Dean lit his marshmallow on fire she made a face, "You're so gross, Dean, liking your smores to taste like charcoal."

"You three take too long, making sure it's just golden brown," Dean blew out his marshmallow and slid it off the tongs onto his gram cracker.

A couple more hours and a few books later, the girls were back outside with the boys around the campfire roasting smores. Though Kerica was sitting on Sam's lap, his arm hooked around her waist easily keeping her there. Her ass pressed against his ass, and she bit into her smore with a purposeful moan of approval. When Dean lit his marshmallow on fire she made a face, "You're so gross, Dean, liking your smores to taste like charcoal."

"You three take too long, making sure it's just golden brown," Dean blew out his marshmallow and slid it off the tongs onto his gram cracker.

Sam felt his entire body shiver at her moan, pursing his lips together before sticking his tongue out at her. "Tease." He growled into her ear, loud enough for only her to hear before taking a bite of his smore.

Amalia smirked at the couple as she took a bite of her smore as well, shaking her head with a giggle. "You two look very cozy."

"What can I say, I like being all snuggled up with my man," Kerica responded to Amalia easily, grinding back into Sam and leaning back so her back was to his chest.

"Well, if you don't watch it you and your man should definitely get a room," Dean told her, "Sex on the ground isn't very comfortable and you two will probably break the chair you're in if you do it there." He thoroughly, one hundred and ten percent enjoyed watching Sam's cheeks glow brightly in embarrassment, reflected by the bonfire light, "I mean, it'd be nice if you enjoyed a few more smores."

"I dunno, it might take too long," Kerica was slightly embarrassed, but she ignored Dean in favor of teasing her boyfriend and now lover, "What do you think, Sam?"

She smiled at the sight of the two before her, seeing how close they were already, and it made her slightly jealous of them. She knew that Dean cared about her, and it made her happy, it really did. But she wanted to get closer to him, on an emotional and physical level, and yet she felt like he was keeping a wall between her and him. It made her chest ache.

Sam felt his face turn beet red at the teasing, looking back and forth from Dean to Kerica. "Um... Well, I uh..." He trailed off, laughing nervously which made Amalia snicker and cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

Kerica shifted onto just Sam's knee, "Alright, Mercy," she giggled, blushing a bit more now and reached for the metal stickers and another big marshmallow.

Dean rolled his eyes and shook his head, popping a whole smore in his mouth and crunching down. He watched the fire a bit while he chewed, and swore he saw some things he didn't really want to see. Standing, he played it off by stretching, popping his back, "Nah," he said when he could speak again, his mouth not glued together by sticky sweet, "You guys can leave whenever, I was just messin' with ya."

"I know, and I was just...being a pervert," Kerica shifted, checking her marshmallow before putting it back over the fire, "Maybe later..." she looked over her shoulder with a smirk.

Sam smirked at her in return, finishing off the last small bit of his smore as he pulled Kerica close to him, kissing her temple gently.

Amalia watched Dean stare at the fire, and could have sworn that she noticed a look of surprise on his face. But when he stood up to stretch, she quickly looked down and finished her smore, standing up to stretch her arms up in the air. "I'm uh.. I'm going to head inside. The mosquitoes are starting to eat me alive." She laughed, causing Sam to tilt his head.

"You sure?" He asked, earning a nod from her. He could obviously tell something was off, but didn't say it out loud.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll catch up with you guys in a while, okay?" She smiled, kissing Dean's cheek before walking back inside.

Dean watched her go and his brows furrowed a bit. Looking at the other two he shifted, "Did I do something wrong?"

Kerica rubbed her forehead, "The last book she read was Route 666, with you and Cassie."

Dean paled a bit, "Oh. /Oh/, well," he cleared his throat, "I get it. I'll, uh...go talk to her then." He headed off into the house after Amalia, leaving Sam and Kerica to their own devices. He didn't see her anywhere, so he headed downstairs, "Angel?" he called, peeking down before he reached the bottom and saw her sitting on the end, "I'm not going to ask if you're okay, because you're obviously not," he frowned and saw down on the bed near her, but not next to her, "You read about me and Cassie?"

Amalia nearly jumped off the edge of the bed when she heard her new nickname, looking up to see Dean sit across from her. Her face went slightly pale at the mention of her reading about him and Cassie, swallowing hard. "Okay, who told..." She stopped herself mid sentence, running a hand through her hair. "Kerica..." She smiled bitterly to herself, shaking her head. "I know, I know... I should not be feeling this insecure about it... But I do."

"Was it making you jealous that I wasn't holding you like Sam was holding Kerica?" Dean asked, "I'm not...I've never been a very touchy person, I've tried to tell you that, but you keep getting upset and I'm sorry," he sighed and rubbed his neck, "I haven't seen Cassie since then, by the way, so don't worry about it. Then the one woman before you that I really did love, and who I was with for a year, had her memory of me erased. Any woman that you read about me being with? It doesn't matter. You matter. Do you understand?"

Amalia looked up at him as he spoke, biting her lip lightly before her tension slowly faded away with every word he said. She felt guilty for expecting so much from him, and it made her realize how selfish she was being. She nodded once with a small smile at his question. "I understand... I really do." She said tenderly, before looking down at her feet. "I'm sorry, too... I'm being incredibly selfish, and I shouldn't be. Can you forgive me?"

"I don't need to forgive you because you didn't do anything wrong. You...just want affection, and there is really nothing wrong with that. I do show it, Amalia. What the issue is you haven't...figured out what my version of affection is yet," Dean told her slowly, "Like...tonight for example, I made dinner, and even cooked your marshmallows for you because you didn't want to get too close to the fire."

Amalia's eyes slowly grew wide at the examples he gave her, looking down at her feet as the realization clicked in her mind. A smile formed as a hand ran through her hair, looking up at him again. "Now I feel silly for not seeing it...." She giggled.

Dean smiled softly and he reached out, stroking her arm with the back of his knuckles, "Just...bare with me. Give me some time and I'll come around. I know I'm avoiding telling you about my past, and I know it's hurting you, but I'm just not comfortable yet." He caressed her cheek, then tilted his head as he heard the door upstairs, "Looks like Kerica and Sam came in. I'm thinking from now on we'll be bunking as couples at hotels, what do you think? Something tells me Kerica's a fiend."

Goosebumps started to form as he touched her arm, her smile growing in understanding before she leaned her face into his hand. "I understand... I'll wait as long as it takes." She said sweetly, kissing his palm before she heard the door open and close. Amalia giggled at his statement and nodded once. "Sounds good to me. And I think you're right about Kerica." She laughed.

()

"Yea-ha!" Dean smirked triumphantly as he leaved through his twenty-dollar bills, total coming up to at least two hundred. "You snooze you lose!" He grinned and waved at the losers at the pool table, giving his stick to someone else before heading out of the bar, a skip in his step. He should have plenty for a few gifts, or even just one, and a cake for his girl now. Her birthday was tomorrow, so he had time, but not much. He also had to get party supplies. Hopefully Kerica was keeping her plenty busy taking her around town, showing her the sights.

Taking a deep breath once in his car, he decided to go to the nearest bakery first, get the cake out of the way so he could pick it up later in the day or in the morning. That'd leave him with whatever he had left over to get her a gift. What to get her, though? Ugh! He had to get the party supplies last, just in case he found something expensive with his fine tastes and beer budget. Cake first! Cake first.

It didn't take very long...and he really hoped she liked it. It'd have to wait for the morning when they opened, which was around seven, but it'd be ready. Grinning he decided against a specific type of store because then they'd be more expensive because they specialized in this or that. Not Walmart or anything like that, that was below his standards. A lovely Celtic type store caught his attention, though, and he decided to pull into it. It had a hunter symbol in the corner, so maybe he could find a few things for the rest of them, too to use on their hunts.

It took him...quite a long time, looking around the store before his eye caught something hidden in the back of the jewelry counter. Amalia would be too...squeamish about a tattoo quite yet, so he asked first if the item had an anti-possession etched into it. The owner's eyes lit up, knowing what he meant, and shook his head but offer for free to do so. He'd had to pay the price of the item up front, but with the fact etchings were through the roof normally, Dean had no problem with that.

After getting it in a blue velvet box, he pocketed it and then grabbed his other stuff from the man. Now ready to leave, he checked his money and with thirty bucks ready to spend, he headed to Walmart now and grabbed birthday supplies and a few necessities...pain meds were so cheap here and he praised the non-existent god for them.

Finally, FINALLY going back to Kerica's place, he was glad Kerica and Amalia weren't back yet. He could still hide his stuff.

~*~

"Aahhhhhh... This is nice." Amalia sighed in content, having a day of relaxation with Kerica as their hair and nails were getting worked on. The french nails were really gorgeous and she'd told the lady to make them fairly short, and she was getting the flowers added to the tips. Normally, the redhead wouldn't allow herself to be pampered like this, but tomorrow was her 24th birthday. She needed to seize the opportunity to take a breather and enjoy herself, and thanks to Kerica's encouragement, that was exactly what she was doing.

Poking an eye open at the brunette beside her, Amalia beamed a bright grin and giggled. "So..." She started. "What happened between you and Sam, if I may ask? I couldn't help but notice how nice and snug you two looked during the bonfire the other night. Did you two.... You know." She grinned, waiting for a response as she saw her friend's face turn beet red.

Kerica shook her head at her friend, "Yes, we did. I haven't been able to keep my hands off of him since then, either, if you haven't noticed. I think I kind of broke him, though," she blushed even darker. She looked at her fingers which were completely done, enjoying how the dark red paint shimmered. The stylist working on her hair cut. She'd gone at least a year without cutting it and it felt refreshing to have it trimmed up and evened out. Amalia's dye was fading, too, showing more of a coppery orange, and she needed the ends fixed up from split ends and dying it so much, "So you are a true ginger. That's fun," she smirked, "I'm sure Dean likes feisty redheads, if ya know what I mean. I'd ask, but if you had I'd know."

Amalia couldn't help but giggle at Kerica's words, closing her eyes as she allowed herself to relax again. When she heard the brunette begin to tease her, she snapped her hazel gaze open and her face turned beet red. She wanted to turn her head and make a snarky comment, but due to her hair being worked on and her embarrassment getting the better of her, she gave her friend a small pout. "Yes, I'm very much a ginger." She said, laughing a little bit. It was true that she and Dean hadn't done anything yet, but God, she wanted him to touch her so badly. But she could tell how hesitant he has been lately, so she decided that tomorrow, she would take matters into her own hands.

Kerica smirked at her, "Don't worry so much. It /is/ your birthday, anything could happen. /Anything/," she stretched her legs out a bit when the lady was done with her pedicure, and sighed, "To be honest I'm ready to go Hunting again. The last week without doing anything has left me lethargic and lazy. I need to get moving. Though, my dad might have something for us this weekend...a big mansion party. That's one of the reasons I had our nails done."

The redhead's face flushed a bright pink before she smiled a little, giggling at her friend's words. "I hope so..." She mumbled, then stretched her legs as well once her pedicure was finished. Turning her head slightly, Amalia nodded once, looking back up as the lady continued working on her hair. "I agree with you on that one... I'm not used to not being able to do anything." She replied, then closed her eyes. "A mansion party, huh...? Did he say anything specific about it?"

"The owner asked my dad to come but because he's busy he's giving it to us to go, since ya know...we both have boyfriends and can dress up and be all pretty. You and I will have to go dress shopping when we're done here, Sam told me he and Dean have suits stored away in their car," Kerica explained, "He's got an...unwanted visitor, if you catch my drift." She hoped Amalia understood her meaning to be spirit.

Amalia's eyebrows raised at the mention of dress shopping, a grin forming against her lips. As Kerica hinted at the spirit that plagued the mansion, she nodded once in determination. "Sounds like our kind of job." She said, soon noticing that her hair was finished being pampered. A sigh left her lips before she stretched slightly, turning to her friend. Both her manicure and pedicure were finished as well, and the redhead smiled at the brunette. "Shall we?"

~*~

The rest of the day flew by, and the next day arrived. Dean got up at around five, just so he could decorate with the supplies he got, being done by six-thirty and left to go get the cake. He got home around eight and Sam was up, rubbing his eyes sleepily and looking at the decor with an odd expression before realization hit him, "Sam, help me put candles on the cake. Kerica still asleep? You should wake her at nine so she can go get Amalia," he said quickly, getting out a big plate and sliding the cake onto it, then retrieved the white candles.

"Dude, slow down and relax." Sam scoffed playfully with an amused smirk. "I get that you're excited for Amalia's birthday today, but you have been up and about since... Before dawn, I'm guessing?" He crossed his arms over his chest, the smirk growing ever so slightly. "Just take a few deep breaths and chill." He chuckled, taking a seat on the couch.

Dean did pause, and looked sheepishly at his brother, "Sorry, Sammy. Take a few to wake up, then. By the way, I've noticed you have been more rested since you've been sleeping with the pixie." He smiled a bit softly, "Does she help chase away the nightmares?"

Sam's face flushed a bright pink at his older brother's question, wanting to protest but he knew that Dean was right. "Yeah... Yeah, she does." He smiled in return. "I don't know, it's just... I feel so at peace when I'm with her." He explained briefly before speaking again. "I can't really put it into words, but... Kerica has this warmth about her. She makes me feel so safe, you know? Like, I can do anything as long as she's with me."

"Yeah, I getcha," Dean nodded with a chuckle, "I'm glad you found someone, Sam. I really am. I'm going to...try and get closer to Amalia. Yeah I'm /technically/ sleeping with her right now, but I still wake up with the nightmares. She doesn't chase away the nightmares yet, and I don't quite feel like I'm safe with her, either. It's not her, either. It's...me...and the demon inside me. I'm scared I'll hurt her, and I'm lying to her when I say I'm not. So there's still a block. You don't have that block with Kerica. You don't have this evil thing inside you. I know you get how I feel right now because you used to have demon blood in your veins, but still..." he sighed and shook his head, "I'm trying...that's all I can really say."

Sam's eyebrows creased slightly in concern as he listened to his older brother speak, a soft breath leaving his nostrils before he nodded once, getting up from the couch, walking into the kitchen. "Yeah... I understand." He said, patting his shoulder before sitting down on the chair beside him. He knew that Dean was trying, and he could see the effort he was putting into the relationship he had with Amalia. But he couldn't help but worry about the thought of the redhead eventually finding out that his brother was a demon, and that it would scare her away.

However, Sam could tell that Amalia would accept and care for Dean no matter what. He just hoped that they both would find happiness together. Looking up at the clock after several minutes later, the younger Winchester noticed that it was one minute to nine o' clock in the morning, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "It's almost time," he chuckled. "I'll go wake up Kerica." With that, he stood on his feet and walked to the room where and his lover were staying in.