standing in your flame

Sam offered an amused look to Callie. "I don't usually get called cute," he joked lightly but he leaned to kiss the side of her head once she was sitting down, though he made a face with the mention of Cas. "Yeah, he's a good guy, but he doesn't really know when to keep certain things to himself." He smiled, watching her, but turned to call a waitress over when Dean reminded them of food, while letting Dean explain Abaddon.

Eva listened intently to everything Dean was saying, taking it all in, though she was beginning to wonder just how much about this world she and Callie were clueless to. "It seems like we have a lot to learn," she mentioned, blinking as she watched the others, though she had faith in all of them - she trusted them all to have each other's backs. "Oh, right, food, I almost forgot." She grinned, though, because she definitely hadn't. Once the waitress came over, she went ahead to place her order.

Dean nodded. "You'll learn along the way," Dean reassured. "Once we get back to the bunker, we'll brief you on some things, you'll be pros in no time." Dean smiled, avoiding the conversation about Castiel and what he nearly let slip out. "How can you forget food? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, c'mon!" The oldest Winchester protested, putting in his order for the greasiest thing he could find on the menu, smiling proudly at his choice.

Callie smiled, leaning into Sam as she put in her order for a simple breakfast, opting for eggs, bacon, and toast. Once Sam had put in his order, Callie looked over to him with a smile. "So, Cas is like a toddler then?" She laughed. "They don't have much self control on what they say, either." She laughed. "So, tell me more about the bunker - is the library big? Hot water? Kitchen?"

Eva smiled slightly, listening to him, but grateful that he was so willing to help them learn. She hoped, more than anything, that things would go well, that she and Callie would pick up on everything the boys had to teach them so that the guys wouldn't have to worry. "Well, we did kick your asses. Maybe we're already pros," she joked lightly, grinning to herself.

"Yeah, he's actually been called a baby in a trench coat," Sam joked, shooting a look to his brother before he ordered and waited until the waitress left before he settled back in his seat, smiling as he watched her. "The library's huge, yeah. It seems like the books are endless most of the time. Hot water, check. Kitchen, check. There's also a War Room for meetings and such."

"You did kick our asses, I'll hand that to you both." Dean laughed. "But do you know what a Wraith is? A Wendigo? Sirens?" Dean raised his eyebrows with a teasing smirk. "You both taught yourselves pretty well, but monsters you've seen out there are nothing compared to demons, angels, the apocalypse, Lucifer, Abaddon..." Dean listed off, wanting to fill the girls in to lessen the shock of some of the devastating things the boys had seen.

"I think I'm gonna spend all my time in the library," Callie smiled, clearly excited. "But there's a War Room?" She raised her eyebrows, looking at Sam. "That's... pretty cool." She nodded, more to herself than Sam. "Plus, it must be nice to have some sort of home to return to after a hunt." She added, studying Sam carefully, overhearing Dean. "We've done a Wendigo already." She grinned. "Blew the bitch up."

Eva grinned slightly at Dean's acknowledgment of them kicking the guys' asses, far too proud each time he admitted to it. But, she nodded as he talked. "Yeah, like Callie said, we've done a Wendigo already," she said, "Not that that discounts all the demons, angels, apocalypse, Lucifer and Abaddon stuff, but..." She shrugged gently. "We're learning, Dean. We don't go into any of this stuff half-assed."

"I'll make sure to give you a grand tour of everything there is," Sam assured her with a smile, "Though I'll save the library for last, since it seems like the place you plan to spend most of your time. I'll make sure to hang back with you, show you some books that you can learn some stuff from." Watching her, he gave her hand a squeeze as he listened to her talk, though he smiled proudly when he heard her talk about the Wendigo. "Oh? I feel a story coming on."

Dean nodded, clearly proud of Eva and her determination. "I believe you," Dean reassured, kissing Eva's temple gently as he relaxed. With everything that had been happening recently, especially with Abaddon, Dean appreciated some downtime, and he couldn't help but appreciate it more because Eva was there to fight the good fight alongside him, and his cheeks lifted into a smile. He still felt responsible for Eva being dragged into the life of hunting, but there was no way he would change anything or do anything differently, because she was there with him, and they were together, and nothing could change that.

Callie laughed. "I kinda put together a Molotov cocktail and threw it into the hideout while Eva got the survivors out of there, to safety." She explained, looking over to Sam as their breakfast was brought over. Thinking of the bunker, Callie couldn't help but think of the wonders that were hidden there, and she couldn't help but feel excited about spending some time with Sam, just the both of them surrounded by books. Callie wanted to make up for lost time, and she truly felt she met her equal in Sam.

Eva grinned with the feeling, watching him for a moment before she nodded. "Good, you should," she hummed out before perking up when their food arrived. Once it was set down in front of each of them, she thanked the waitress, but didn't waste another word before she started eating happily, enjoying the meal after the long night before.

"Impressive," Sam said with an amused grin, though he nodded. "That would get the job done. So you guys saved the victims and got rid of the Wendigo - not many people can say they dealt with a Wendigo and killed it and survived, too." He smiled, watching her, glad that she'd survived, glad that she'd been smart enough to figure out a game plan. Turning his attention to his food, he started to eat.

Dean smiled, watching Eva eat, reassuring himself she was okay. "It's a long drive back, so just make sure that you get a lot in you, even if you have to order something for the journey, go right ahead." Dean smiled, tucking into his huge burger, sneering over at Sam's salad. "Dude, a salad? At eight am?" He shook his head. Dean was eager to get breakfast over and done with, just wanting some alone time between himself and Eva in the Impala.

Callie smiled bashfully as she carefully ate her toast, chuckling at Dean's comment. "I think the worst thing we fought against was a changeling." She shrugged. "That was a scary case, wasn't it Eva?" Callie looked to her sister. "And second to that was definitely the vampires nest." She shrugged. "But, Abaddon and demons? That sounds... kinda fun." Callie laughed, shaking her head. She never would of said that 12 months ago.

Eva smiled to Dean's words and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind," she promised as she ate, though she blinked to Callie. "Oh, the changeling? That case creeped me out. It was probably my least favorite." She made a face, shaking her head as she ate.

"Says the guy with a huge burger at eight am. Besides, they didn't have any veggie shakes," Sam said with a shrug as he ate, though he listened to Callie, looking over at her. "Fun?" He arched a brow, unsure of whether she was serious or joking, but he smiled at her laugh either way. "They're... Dangerous and definitely not easy at all, but... They at least keep us on our toes and they're all pretty different from each other."

Dean blinked in surprise, proud of the girls for battling things that even the most experienced hunters would run away from. "You know, that's kinda badass. You've seen some scary situations, Sam and I have seen grown ass hunters run away from things like changelings and Wendigos." Dean explained, smiling in Eva's direction, taking her hand within his own as he gently ran his thumb across her knuckles. "Is the food good?"

Callie laughed at Sam's confusion. "Well, you gotta experience new things, or you don't learn." She shrugged, offering Sam some of her eggs and bacon, admiring the way he looked, sat by the window. She blinked herself out of her train of thoughts. "Besides, we're in this for good, so we need to learn and get experience. You boys don't have to do this by yourselves anymore."

"Well, we met two badass Winchesters," Eva said with a small smile, looking over at him, "Maybe we wanted to outdo you." It was a joke, of course. She doubted they could really outdo the guys - especially given everything that the boys had shared with them so far. Still, she relaxed with feeling her hand in his again and she gave his hand a squeeze, nodding. "It's delicious and I'm not sharing."

Sam laughed with the mention of it. "I guess that's true. And there's still plenty of stuff out there to learn about - hell, even for us," he said honestly, nodding, though he shifted, accepting some of the food she offered but not eating much of it because he wanted her to be full when they left. His expression softened to her words and he smiled, kissing her temple gently. "Right, now we've got you girls by our sides." He had Callie by his side. "I'm sure we can get through anything together."

"I'm fine with my heart attack burger, it's okay." Dean teased, leaning in to press a sweet kiss to Eva's lips. Dean grinned at Eva's comment about outdoing them. "Give it some time, I think Sam and I have met our matches." He wanted Eva to come into hunting and feel confident about it, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to try his hardest to make sure Eva was truly ready for what was out there, but he had no doubt the twins were intelligent and practical.

Callie smiled, nearly not believing Sam. He was so incredibly intelligent, she highly doubted there were monsters out there that Sam couldn't find a way around. Smiling at the thought of the four of them hunting together, Callie realised that her family were never back in that small town, it was right here, with her, inside a 50s diner, eating greasy food - and with that thought, her eyes travelled to Eva, and then Dean. Ducking her head, Callie smiled with pride, holding onto Sam's hand as she finished her breakfast.

A quiet hum came from Eva with the kiss and she smiled to herself, so glad to have somebody like Dean in her life. It was a very obvious change from her ex, a complete and total upgrade, even, and she felt incredibly lucky. "Just don't have a heart attack on my watch," she joked lightly but grinned slightly, "Yeah? You really think so?" Shifting, she finished her own food, giving a happy noise of content with how great breakfast had been.

Sam smiled, watching Callie, and he wondered how in the world he'd managed to meet somebody so perfect and beautiful. He gave her hand a squeeze as he finished his own meal, just enjoying the contact between them, relishing in the fact that she was there and she was his and that nobody could take that away from them - not now, not ever. "I could get used to this," he admitted quietly to her, running his thumb over the back of her hand.

"I really think so," Dean smiled, a genuine smile. "But I can't totally promise to not have a heart attack - grease is too good." He shot a wink in Eva's direction, and even though he knew that they should get back to the bunker, Dean wrapped an arm around Eva's middle, pulling her to him once more, just wanting that contact. It had been a long time since Dean had felt something so real, so passionate, and he just wanted to hold on to the peace a little while longer.

Callie turned to look at Sam as he spoke to her quietly, and she smiled, looking at their hands. "Mm, me too," she replied, just as quiet. Scooching over to Sam, Callie took comfort in knowing he was close, knowing he was hers and knowing that nothing could take him from her. She hadn't expected herself to fall so quickly for Sam, but she was happy that she allowed herself the luxury, knowing she had met the man she'd longed for since she was a little girl - her very own Prince Charming, who came to her as a hunter.

"We should get going." Dean spoke up eventually. "We'll be back in Kansas by late afternoon."

Eva could feel her heart swell as she listened to Dean, far too happy to hear something so simple. She couldn't imagine how she'd gotten so lucky but she wanted to relish in it while she could, leaning into Dean's hold quietly. She wanted to enjoy every moment of this and, really, she didn't want to part from Dean at all. "Well, I can agree with the grease being good, but still," she said with amusement, leaning up to kiss his cheek for a moment.

Sam smiled as he noticed Callie move closer to him and, shifting, he slid his arm back around her shoulders, holding her tightly and protectively to himself, unable to really help it. He wanted that contact, wanting to have her as close to him as he could. "Good," he decided quietly, nodding to her words, "I'm really glad to hear it. It's nice and this entire thing is just... Comfortable. And I think you deserve that more than anything." Watching her, he rubbed her back gently and kissed the top of her head.

When Dean finally spoke up about leaving to Kansas, Eva offered a small nod in response. "Well, then, let's get this show on the road," she said, offering a small smile before she climbed out of her spot, stretching her arms out above her.

"I can handle paying for the meal, if you want," Sam offered up, looking to the others, still keeping his arm around Callie, in part hoping that she'd stick around with him to pay because he didn't really want to be without her by his side.

Dean smiled proudly as Eva leaned up to kiss his cheek, appreciating the moment before following Eva's lead and standing from the booth, holding around her waist as she stretched her arms above her head. "Boo," Dean chuckled, burying his face between her shoulder and her neck, pressing a sweet kiss to her skin. Dean had never felt so natural, and Eva gave him a rush that he couldn't quite explain. "C'mon, let's go and get the Impala ready, we can pick up your Bug on the way." Dean reluctantly pulled away from Eva, instead offering his hand to Eva, grinning as she took it.

Callie stayed firmly by Sam's side, watching as Dean led Eva to the faithful Impala waiting outside. Smiling up at him, Callie led the way to the cash register, more confident from what she was when she and Sam had first met. However, Callie felt her best when she was within two feet of Sam; knowing she had his back and he had hers, and it was going to stay that way. Silently leaning into Sam's embrace as they waited for assistance, Callie smiled. She had been alone, minus Eva, for the longest time, and she was glad it was Sam who was the one to change everything. "Are you excited for the drive back?" She asked - Callie loved driving, and she in particular loved her little Bug.

Dean led Eva outside, into the sunshine - the temperature was beginning to heighten the more the sun rose, and Dean wanted to get on the road before it became too warm. "Where's the Bug parked?" He asked, opening the passenger door for Eva to climb in, kissing her hand as he let go. Ensuring she was in her safety belt, Dean went to the drivers side, shutting his door with a light slam and turning down the radio so it didn't interrupt their conversation.

Eva gave a noise of surprise when she felt Dean's arms around her but she laughed, grinning as she leaned back into his hold and adjusted her head to peer at him as much as she could. "Finding it hard to keep your hands to yourself?" she teased lightly, grinning to herself when he pulled back. Shifting, she slipped her hand in his and followed him outside, giving his hand a squeeze in the process.

Sam smiled as he led the way to the counter, making sure that Callie was close to him. While he doubted anything would happen in the diner, he knew from experience that you could never be sure. And, he'd definitely rather be safe than sorry, because the last thing he wanted to do was to lose Callie so quickly after just getting her back into his life. "I am," he confirmed with a nod, "Especially since we'll get to spend time alone. I feel like it'll be easier to catch up if it's just the two of us without the added distraction." He grinned jokingly before paying and looking to her. Smiling, he took her hand before leading the way out.

"It's about two minutes away from the victim's house," Eva told him as she gave his hand a squeeze before she climbed into the car. Buckling up, she settled back and relaxed, smiling to herself. "We wanted it to be close enough that we could get to it if something went wrong, but far enough that it wouldn't be spotted by anybody if somebody realized that the old couple in there were dead. We wanted to avoid looking like suspects."

As Sam and Callie got outside, Sam led the way to the car, still holding her hand, and he squeezed it before he opened the back door for her. "Before we all head out, after we get the Bug, we should probably fill up both cars on gas," he mentioned, looking to Callie, "The fewer stops we have to make, the sooner you can get to see the bunker." He grinned, eager for her to see it, wanting to show her around and let her see all the great things the bunker had to offer.

Dean nodded, grinning at Eva. "Sneaky, I like it." Dean offered a joking wink. Registering what Sam said, Dean nodded in agreement. "Sounds good, fighting ghouls is a hard business, but someone's gotta do it." Dean joked, bringing Baby to a roaring start, grinning with pride at his car. "Don't worry Baby, I'd never replace you with some crappy Bug." Dean reversed, nearly expertly, out of the parking space he had imprisoned the Impala in. "Alright, once we get back to the bunker, we can all have some rest, downtime before showtime, you know?" Dean reached over to take Eva's hand into his own, gently running his thumb over her knuckles as he traced their steps to the victims' home, seeing a cherry red Bug parked just outside the cul de sac. "Alright, you two lovebirds," Dean looked in the rear view mirror to Sam and Callie. "Out."

Callie laughed, shaking her head at Dean. "Alright, alright. Lead the way to the gas station, I'll follow." She tapped the Impala's roof, waiting for Sam to join her before running her hand along the Bug's trunk. "Hey girl, sorry for abandoning you." Callie unlocked the car, smiling at Sam. "Get in, get comfy, by the sounds of it, it's going to be a long ride." And Callie was excited, just to spend some alone time with Sam, without teasing remarks from Dean and Eva. Getting into the drivers seat, Callie adjusted her mirrors before bringing the Bug to life with less aggression than the Impala.

Dean pulled out of his spot, ensuring Callie was following, before looking over to Eva. "Alright, I wanna know everything you've been up to this past year." He grinned over at her. "There's no way you only dealt with ghouls, Wendigos, and changelings." He put his foot down onto the acceleration. "By the way, when it comes to you? I could never keep my hands to myself." Dean smiled.

Eva rolled her eyes in response, watching Dean. "You seriously did not just call our Bug crappy," she complained with a small pout as she watched him, "Besides! You're the one who wanted to drive her! You're just mad we said no." But her expression softened, a smile forming on her features with feeling his hand take hers and she felt herself relax, unable to help it. Having that simple contact between them just made everything so much better.

Sam shook his head with amusement when Dean instructed them to get out. Climbing out, he followed after Callie, smiling to himself as he watched her. "You really love her, don't you?" he asked, motioning to the Bug, because he could see how attached she was to it. He wanted to make sure that they kept her Bug fixed up. Mentally, he made a note not to let Dean forget to fix her up when he got the chance. "Right, let's go." Nodding, he climbed into the passenger seat, smiling as he buckled up.

Leaning back in his seat, Sam watched her for a few moments. "Now that we're not around them, we can catch up," he mentioned, "I mean, not that they're not fun and everything, but Dean sometimes gets too into the conversation and pipes in when it's not his turn to talk." He grinned jokingly. "So... What got you into hunting? Or what made you stick to it?"

Eva blinked, looking to Dean as she relaxed in her seat before laughing. "Okay, okay, fine, but only on the condition that you tell me what Castiel was going to say," she hummed out, deciding that it sounded like a fair deal.

Dean laughed at Eva, raising his eyebrows. "You really wanna know what Cas was going to say?" He swallowed nervously. "Really?" Dean heaved out an over exaggerated sigh. "Fine!" He laughed. "But then I wanna hear all about your hunting, got it?" He found himself nervous suddenly, his heart quickening at the thought. "I, uh, said I wanted to marry you one day, and Cas thought it was a great idea, because he can't seem to understand being appropriate about timing." Dean blinked, turning his head briefly to search Eva's face for a reaction, hoping he didn't scare her off in anyway, not wanting to make her feel rushed in anyway. "Alright, your turn!" Dean changed the subject quickly.

"I do love her," Callie confirmed, looking relaxed behind the wheel as she drove, everything coming as a second nature to her. Thinking of answers to Sam's question, Callie smiled. "You love Dean, don't deny it." She teased, clearing her throat. "But after you guys had gone, we found a really nice place - we were only there for a week, and all these creepy instances started to happen, and we were still kinda... nervous? About that God." She cleared her throat. "So, we got into it, we researched, and here we are now." Callie shrugged. "We kept at it because it feels good to help people." She tapped her steering wheel in time to the music, playing quietly out of the radio, shrugging.

Dean stopped at the gas station, squeezing Eva's hand. "Just gotta get her filled up, do you need any snacks?" Dean asked with a smile, always wanting to ensure Eva was taken care of.