(1) The Devil's Hybrid (D. Winchester)

Chapter Three

Erika taps her pen against the paper on the bar top, the music playing, the crowds talk and drink, but still all in all a quiet night, Erika lifts the pen and taps it against her lips.

"What are you stuck on?" a voice asks from the other side of the bar, Erika smirks and lifts her head. Dean Winchester smirks at her and then motions to the crossword.

"Not stuck..." she answers. "Finished" she teases and leans up. "Drink?" she asks. Dean sits at the bar and nods.

"Beer, please" he asks and looks around, there are a lot of eyes on him. Erika grabs a beer from the fridge behind the bar and opens the top before setting it in front of him.

"Don't mind them" she teases. "They're just aware that you are a hunter....and human" Dean raises an eyebrow taking another look around.

"They're all....monsters?" he asks looking to her.

"Monster is a...subjective term" she answers. "Some humans can be monsters" she explains. "But not all monsters, as you class them, are monsters" she leans on the bar and smirks. "Now...not that I am complaining because the view has vastly improved but...what are you doing here?" she asks. "You figure out your big mystery yet?" he shrugs and leans on the bar.

"I don't know" he admits, Erika raises an eyebrow at him.

"So yes" she corrects. "You just don't know whether to believe or not" he lifts his eyes from his beer to hers. "I've been around a while" she offers. "If you tell me, I can tell you whether or not they are real" Dean eyes her carefully before looking to his beer.

"I'm not sure even you will believe me" he mumbles.

"Try me" she pushes, Dean sighs and looks up at her. She leans up and sighs. "Once second" she tells Dean before she looks across the bar. "Hey!" she shouts in front of Dean and then is across the other side of the bar in a flash, her fingers curling around the wrist of a man who's thrown a punch at another of her patrons. "Not in here" she scolds pushing the fist away. "You all know the rules" she growls. "Not here. Not in my bar. We don't fight. Unless you" she turns to the punch thrower. "Want to take me on, love?" she raises an eyebrow at him crossing her arms over her chest, he stares down at her, judging his chances with her. He grabs his jacket from the back of the chair and walks away. "Good choice" she states loud enough for him to hear. He grumbles as he leaves, Erika moves back towards the bar, Dean raises an eyebrow.

"You're pretty strict, huh?" he teases, she smirks.

"Only way they learn" she tells him back taking the empty beer bottle from the bar. "Another?" she asks waving the bottle.

"Sure" Dean answers watching her. "How did you even come up with a place like this? I mean....why?" he asks, she shrugs and sets another beer on the bar top for him.

"What cause we're monsters we can't enjoy a good drink?" she teases back, Dean smirks. "For most of us....it's a human as we can get" she tells him. "Sitting in a bar with friends...drinking, playing darts, shooting pool, listening to music....cause once we step back out those doors" she motions to the doors to the bar. "We're the monsters again"

"And hunters don't find you?" Dean asks her.

"We've had a few in over the years, your daddy included. But all you have to do is look at the area, since I opened there have been less monster attacks, in fact" she smirks. "There are more monsters here then probably anywhere else.....but no monster based deaths" she cocks her head. "Maybe all they need is a watering hole. Most hunters are smart enough to realise a smart thing when they see it....."

"And those that don't?" he asks, Erika bites her lip and shrugs.

"They leave" she answers. "Alive, of course, but they leave, with no memory of this place" she leans on the bar. "So you were telling me about the creature that hauled you up?" he watches her a moment before shrugging.