He was so, so close, dangerously so. I couldn't bring myself to pull back, to break eye contact. I was entranced by him. He kept me there, locked in his intense gaze. His eyes burned with something I hadn't seen ever before. Or maybe I just hadn't noticed. "Penny for your thoughts, Si?" Dean's breath fanned my face, making me pull in a breath of my own. I needed to step back before I couldn't control myself. You. But I wouldn't tell him that. I couldn't. For one, his ego did not need it. Two, I was scared. I was terrified that this would go too far and it wouldn't work out. "Wouldn't you like to know?" The words slip past my lips faster than I can stop them. That seemed to happen around him. I couldn't control the things I say or do. Normally, I had the best self-control a person could hope for. But Dean...he was able to rip that to pieces with just one look, one word. Dean chuckles and my body warmed at the sound. He stepped closer. His body brushed mine now and I couldn't breathe. But the burn in my lungs felt nice. Dean looked at me for a few moments. I could see the wheels turning in his head. What was he thinking about? I desperately wanted to know. "Screw it." He muttered before leaning down and kissing me. ___ Saige Dawson was a longtime friend of the Winchesters, the eldest brother especially despite the fact she was two years younger than him. She'd always had a tiny crush on him, not that'd she's admit it. And definitely not to him. John would bring his sons to her father's farm where they'd spend a week or two every once in a while. Saige had grown up hunting and with the Winchesters. She'd opened up to Dean, shared all her secrets and spilled her entire life story. He did the same. So one day when he stops by for a visit and tells her that John was missing, Saige had to help. John was like a second father figure for her. She couldn't just leave him hanging. And she couldn't leave Dean hanging either. He needed her help. So she would help.

Sequel to Haunted "If I ask you to stay, will you?" I asked, voice quiet as I stared at him. His thumb brushed across my bottom lip as he leaned ever so slightly closer. "This time I will." He whispered back. "And every time after that." I smiled, letting my eyes flutter shut as he leaned forward. ______ Saige Dawson has been through a chaotic year. Fighting off monsters, demons, and her feelings for Dean Winchester was quite the task. But now she watched as he lay almost lifeless in a hospital bed. She couldn't do anything to save him, and it broke her. She was desperate at this point, willing to do anything for him. Something had to give. She knew she couldn't live without him. And on top of all of that, her mother was inching her way back into her life unwanted. Then with the demon that had killed Sam and Dean's mother still on the loose, Saige had her plate full. It's only a matter of time before it all falls apart.

"We're falling apart and I hate it!" I yelled, tears welling up in my eyes. "I want to hate you! I want to hate you for selling your soul to save me! I want to hate you for not caring about your own life enough to try and save it! I want to hate you for all of this. But I can't! I won't!" "It would be easier if you did!" Dean yelled back. "So just hate me already! Hate me! Leave me! Whatever you have to do to get through this! Just do it!" "Just...I don't want you to die." My voice faltered. "Please, Dean. Please. I just can't take this anymore." His eyes softened as he stepped forward and wrapped me in his arms. "I'm sorry, angel. I really am." "I can't deal with all of this on my own." "Yes, you can." Dean said. "You are so much stronger than you think. Believe me." ___ Saige Dawson's world was crashing down around her now. Not only was she slowly learning more about the curse she carried within her, but she realized just how bad things could get if she fell into the wrong arms. She also was trying to cope with the fact that she had died. That Sam had died. That because of that, Dean had sold his soul to a demon and was damned to burn in hell for eternity if she couldn't save him within a year. Time was running out and she was scared. She also has to learn how to tap into the power within her. She wasn't sure whether the power was good or bad and that alone made her want to ignore it, but she couldn't. She had to dig deep. To save Dean. To save herself. To find out what she truly is.

"You came back." I whispered, gripping him tight. "You're here." "I'm here." He whispered back, lips brushing my shoulders as his arms wound around me. "I'm here. I'll never leave you again." I was so happy I wanted to cry. I wanted to hold him here with me forever because a part of me was terrified he was going to disappear. A part of me was terrified this was a dream, that I would wake up and he'd be gone again. But he was here. He was holding me again. ___ Four months after Dean died, Saige was still a wreck. She was trying to cope, to take care of a child, to learn more about the Sorceress that was prying into her life more and more. Then Dean comes back. He comes back from the dead. Saige couldn't be happier. Everything was better...But for how long? Dean is clearly hiding something from her, though she can't figure it out. And on top of it all, she's learning more about the mysterious figures she's seen since childhood.

"If I die--" I began, voice quiet, barely above a whisper. "Don't say that." Dean cut me off, resting his head against mine. "You won't. I won't let you. You aren't dying. Not on my watch." A sigh slipped past my lips as I shut my eyes. "Show me you love me. Tonight, right now. Just prove it." ____ With the apocalypse looming, Saige is doing everything she can to prevent it and her family from falling apart. Angels, demons, good, evil, all of those lines blur. She has few people to trust. Hope wanes each day as her death seems more and more likely as each minute passes by.