To the Death

It had been six months since Kacey had left the boys at the motel, and if she was honest, she missed them. Things were getting a little hectic in the hunting world, which usually meant that something big was going down. Kacey had never hunted so much in such a short space of time, and she could feel the exhaustion as she stared around at the vampires who had surrounded her; sneering and ready to fight but she was ready too.

She was in her hunting zone, everything around her had faded apart from the vampires, and she could hear nothing but her steady breathing and her heart drumming in her head. Then the first vampire attacked and Kacey blocked his punch with her arm, grabbing his hand and bringing her knee up into his stomach hard, causing him to double over in pain.

The others soon followed suit, allowing Kacey to set them up and take them down easily enough, these vampires didn't seem as trained as most of them, who seemed freakishly good at fighting no matter what their age. She decapitated the last vampires head with one swift movement, watching as the spray of blood hit her in the face and the head rolled across the warehouse floor.

The adrenaline pumped strongly through her veins as she looked around her, with a hint of satisfaction. Sudden movement caught her attention and she spun round, bringing the machete up to the neck of Dean Winchester.

"Easy tiger… I'd really like to keep my head," he stated with a huge grin.

"Did your daddy never teach you that sneaking up on an armed hunter could end badly?" Kacey asked smirking as she lowered the machete and placed it back in the sheath on her belt.

"I must have missed that training session. Anyway I thought I told you that I wanted you in one piece when I next saw you."

"Hey, for a hunter this is considered one piece, I have all my limbs which makes me whole," Kacey replied as they left the warehouse. Dean chuckled, before turning serious again and looking over at Kacey, who cocked her head frowning, and adding, "What's going on?"

"Nothing, it's just good to see you is all," Dean lied, hugging her.

She hugged him back feeling him relax in her embrace.

"Don't do that… don't lie to me please," Kacey begged, pulling out of his arms and leaning against the Impala.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes, you know you can tell me anything."

"There's some sort of war coming between hunters and demons, this isn't the way I wanted to tell you but there it is."

"When?" Kacey asked.

"We're not entirely sure, but we're working on it," Dean replied, worry clear in his eyes.

"Is that why you came here?" Kacey inquired, frowning slightly.

"Partly I guess. The last six months have been rough to say the least, I just wanted to see you," Dean admitted, avoiding her gaze.

Kacey knew that he wasn't telling her everything, but things must be bad for him to track her down. She didn't push him for an explanation though; instead she slid her hand into his and entwined their fingers.

"How can I help?" Kacey asked.

"Come with me to Sioux Falls, we're doing research there… I know it's a bit out of the blue and I know it's a lot to ask, but we could really use your help."

Kacey was shocked to see a hint of desperation in his eyes, that alone was enough to make up her mind for her.

"Okay, I'll follow you in my truck," Kacey said glancing over at him to see his face.

Dean's grip tightened on her hand as if relieved or silently thanking her, she wasn't entirely sure which, but it was odd behaviour from him either way. They jumped into their cars and Kacey followed him back to some sort of salvage yard, in the middle of nowhere, happy to be able to stretch her legs after the long drive.

She waited for Dean to join her, then followed him into the house where Sam and an older man stood, looking over a map which was spread out on a table.

"Hey guys," Dean shouted grabbing a beer from the fridge and offering one to Kacey who declined.

She walked over to see what was on the map, leaning on Sam who smiled when he saw her, placing his arm around her shoulders.

"What's this?" Kacey asked.

"It's a map of omens, cattle mutilations, electrical storms, you know the drill," The older man replied.

"Kacey, this is Bobby Singer, his a close friend of the family… Bobby, this is Kacey Haywood, we met her on a case about six months ago," Sam added, obviously realising that introductions were needed.

"Haywood… you're not Nora Haywoods kid are you?" Bobby inquired.

"You knew my mum?" Kacey questioned.

"Yeah, she was like a daughter to me until she up and disappeared on you and your daddy," Bobby replied.

"Not her best decision… anyway this is a lot of demonic omens, I've never seen this many at once," Kacey stated motioning to the markings on the map.

"None of us have, we've got information on what's to come but we have no clue when or where it's going to happen," Dean said from next to her.

"The increase in omens could be a sign of the beginning, which would be bad news," Sam added.

Kacey stared at the map, before glancing over at Dean whose gaze was on the floor… she looked up at Sam who pulled her closer to him and they stood in silence. A few moments passed before Kacey walked outside needing to get some air, with Dean hot on her heels.

"You okay?" he asked, standing next to her.

"Yeah, never met anyone who knew my mum all that well, I want to ask questions but I don't think I want to hear the answers. Some things are better left alone and I think that maybe this is one of them," Kacey replied.

"Maybe in the future, she'll be here to answer them herself but until then, or until your ready just look forward," Dean added turning to look at her.

Kacey smiled and moved into his arms, she always felt safe in his embrace and for once she felt complete. He held her close, and she laid her head on his chest listening to the rhythm of his heart.

She didn't know what was coming, none of them did but she did know that she needed to be with them, with Dean. She really liked him, which she hoped was a mutual feeling, and it was true that you could get through anything with the ones you cared about by your side.