While staying another week at Bobby's house, Juniper learned many things about Danielle Ward just by observing her.

The first thing was that she smoked. A lot. It was a routine for Danielle to head outside and pull out a cigarette, leaning against one of the rusty cars and watching the smoke blow into the wind. At times, if she knew Dean was around, she would light up a cigarette near his Impala, to which he always had some colorful words to say whenever he caught her, but she tended to roll her eyes and maybe let out a chuckle or two over his reaction.

Next, Danielle was very witty, usually a spitfire whenever Dean was around to annoy her or during target practice. She had a way with words and every type of weapon there was. She was a skilled hunter, and Juniper could see why Bobby and the Winchesters trusted her.

Which was why Juniper almost felt bad that she was still having a hard time even looking her in the eye.

Ever since the exorcism, Danielle made an effort to speak to Juniper, even if it was small talk. Juniper, however, still felt uneasy the last time she actually talked to her (more so the demon) a week ago, and in a way, she saw that Danielle respected her boundaries, keeping some distance between the two. This was something both Bobby and the Winchester brothers took notice of, so when it came time to hit the road for another job, Dean suggested the two girls drive down to Greenwood, Mississippi together. With some reluctance, Juniper agreed to it, and she couldn't help but dread the car ride.

So for seven hours, the only noise that filled up the car was the radio that played the same rock music and commercials every few hours. Juniper knew that Danielle would glance at her every now and then, to which she either had her eyes on the road through the front or right window or down at her cell phone, waiting for another call or voicemail or text that Juniper wouldn't be able to respond to.

It was in a gas station in Kansas City, Missouri, their halfway point, when the tension began to shift, along with the silence finally breaking.

"I think you should turn off your cell phone for a while," Danielle suggested as she hopped back in the car with some snacks and drinks for the two of them.

"What?" she asked, gripping the phone in her hand.

Danielle scoffed in response. "Don't think I haven't noticed you checking it every few minutes." She paused, her expression turning sad. "But I do understand why you keep looking at it. I know everyone back in Maryland is worried about you."

"Yeah, they are," Juniper replied, looking down at her phone again.

Her face continued to show up on the news, where she found out that her college had a memorial set up for not only her, but for Eric as well. Many of her classmates, including Nancy, spoke up about wanting to find her, along with her parents (according to the news, Eric's parents refused to make a statement regarding her disappearance, and she was okay with that). She hated seeing their desperate faces when they popped up on the screen, and as much as she wanted to go home to them, it just wasn't possible, nor would it be safe. She kept telling herself that as a way to talk herself out of hauling ass back to Maryland.

Huffing a sigh, Danielle started the car back up, but didn't pull out of the station just yet. Instead, she turned to face Juniper. "Look, I know this is hard and a lot to take in. I can't imagine everything you're going through right now with what happened to you. But being with us means you're safe and you'll get the answers you're looking for." When Juniper didn't respond, she continued. "And I get that you and I had a rough start, but you can trust me."

"I did trust you, when we first met that night at the coffee shop, and look where it got me," Juniper retorted.

"Yeah, sitting next to me in my car," Danielle replied.

"How much do you even remember?" Juniper asked, finally looking up at Danielle.

She shrugged in response. "Not much, only bits and pieces. Dean filled me in on what happened, though." For a moment, she was quiet again, then kept going. "I'm sorry about all of that, with what I said to you."

Juniper sighed, leaning back in her seat. "Well, it technically wasn't you who said it, so it's hard to really blame you for it."

"So does this mean we can start over? I mean, we are going to be spending a lot of time together."

Juniper gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

Danielle nodded her head. "Okay, well, I'm glad we got that out of the way." She got her seatbelt on, driving out of the gas station and back onto the main road. "Because I'll be honest, these next seven hours were gonna be very awkward if we kept up with not speaking to each other, and I'm sure Dean would be annoyed that this idea of his didn't work." She scoffed, shaking her head. "As if any other plan he comes up with actually goes well."

Juniper let out a small giggle as she took one last look at her phone screen before powering it off for the rest of the ride.

*******

It was a long night for Juniper.

The motel bed was not very comfortable as she tossed and turned for most of the night, and she thought Danielle would find a way to pin her down so she would stay still. But Juniper learned another thing about her that night: Danielle was a heavy sleeper.

The four regrouped the next day for lunch at a nearby diner, preparing themselves for whatever job there was in town. The boys sat across from the girls, with Sam on his laptop, already finished with the small salad he ordered, and Dean still working on his plate of food. Juniper and Danielle were too focused on their own meals to worry about anything else for the moment.

"You know, I've been thinking..." Dean spoke up after the table being silent for a while.

"Oh, God," Sam groaned next to him, rolling his eyes.

"No, just listen." Dean looked towards Juniper. "As much as the name Juniper is...well, nice...it's a mouthful to say, and since we're all going to be spending a lot more time together, I think we should talk about nicknames to call you."

Juniper looked at the others, then nodded her head. "Okay, well, everyone really just calls me June." The nickname was coined by her cousin, and it just stuck. Fortunately, her family liked it, and it had been a part of her ever since.

Making a face, Dean shook his head. "Nah, that's boring. How about Junie?"

"Junie? That sounds like something I'd call my dog if I had one," Danielle stated, then looked over at Juniper. "Then again, you remind me of a Golden Retriever."

Juniper furrowed her brows in confusion. "Um, thank you, I guess?" She figured it was a compliment.

"So Junie it is." Sitting there, Dean was silent for a moment, then raised his eyebrows. "Wait, how about June Bug?"

Juniper just about slammed her fork down on the table. "Absolutely not."

"Oh, come on, it's cute."

"It's also a nickname I've managed to avoid my entire life." She was glad to not have that nickname growing up. Even her parents didn't care for it.

Dean smirked in response, chewing on a fry. "All the more reason to call you June Bug."

Juniper rolled her eyes. "Great," she mumbled sarcastically.

"Hey, it's better than what he calls me," Danielle commented. "Witch bitch is my nickname."

"And don't you forget it," he replied as he smirked across the table, followed by a wink.

Danielle responded by flipping him off.

Dean continued eating his fries, then looked over at Sam's computer. "Hey, that's me."

Sam scoffed. "Yeah, so much for our low profile. You got a warrant in St. Louis, and now you're officially in the Feds' database."

Dean chuckled. "Dude, I'm like Dillinger or something."

"Dean, it's not funny," Sam said in a serious tone. "It makes the job harder. We gotta be more careful now."

"Well, what do they got on you?" Dean retorted.

"Oh, you know, accessory, kidnapping...the usual," he retorted. "All thanks to you."

"No need to be jealous because I'm ahead of you by a few felonies, Sammy."

"I'm not jealous."

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, how about we focus on why we're here in the first place?" Danielle suggested.

"Yeah, what do you got on the case there, you innocent, harmless young man, you?" Dean added, eating more of his fries.

Closing his laptop shut, Sam moved it aside and grabbed the pieces of papers next to the wall. "'Architect Sean Boyden plummeted to his death from the roof of his home. A condominium he designed.'"

"Hm. Build a high-rise and jump off. That's classy," Dean stated. "When did he call animal control?"

"Two days earlier," Sam answered.

"Did he actually say 'black dog'?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah. 'Vicious, wild, black dog.' The authorities couldn't find it, and no one else saw it. In fact, the authorities are confused as to how a wild dog could get past the doorman, take the elevator up, and start roaming the halls of the cushiest joint in town." Sam paused, huffing a sigh. "After that, no more calls. He doesn't show up for work. Two days later, he takes a swan dive."

Juniper listened carefully to what they were saying. She didn't have a premonition about this days earlier, so this was the first time she was hearing everything there was to know about the case, with she and Danielle only hearing bits and pieces of it before they left.

"You think we're dealing with an actual black dog?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged. "Well, maybe."

That's a very well-trained black dog if it knew where to go, Juniper thought. Then again, this is the supernatural we're dealing with.

"What's the lore on it?" Dean questioned.

"It's all pretty vague," Sam responded, handing everyone each a piece of paper. "There are spectral black dogs all over the world, but some say they're animal spirits, others say death omens. Anyway, whatever they are, they're big, nasty..."

"Yeah, I bet they could hump the crap out of your leg," Dean commented, turning the paper to reveal a long dog that resembled more of a wolf. "Look at that one. Huh?" He let out a small chuckle.

"Dean, that's disgusting," Danielle told him.

"What? They could."

"That's good to know," Juniper said with a hint of sarcasm in her tone. "So what's next?"

"We go looking for some answers," Sam said.

"Which means you and I will be hitting the books," Danielle added. "We like to make sure witchcraft isn't an option, and seeing that I have the background for it--"

"--that makes you the perfect candidate to do the research," Dean finished.

"Yeah, because you don't do any of it," Sam pointed out in a low voice.

So the four exited the diner and headed back to the motel, where Dean and Sam changed into suits for their new roles as journalists, while Juniper and Danielle remained in their room with Sam's books to do more research. In a way, Juniper was grateful that she was assigned to do more reading, as it was in her area of expertise, along with she wasn't sure about doing any sort of field work just yet. At least she was slowly starting to warm up to Danielle, so that was a plus.

As they kept reading for the next couple of hours, Juniper felt her eyes get tired from all the words she consumed on every page she flipped through. She messed with the engagement ring still on her finger to keep her from falling asleep.

"Why don't you just take it off?" Danielle asked from across the table.

Juniper looked up. "What?"

"Your ring." She paused, leaning back in her chair. "I mean, he's...well..."

"Gone, I know," Juniper stated. "Believe me, I've tried a few times already." While she knew Eric was long gone, she just had a hard time taking it off whenever she looked at it, thinking of him every time. She often smiled at the day he proposed and how happy both of them were.

Danielle merely nodded her head, folding her arms. "You two loved each other, I bet."

Juniper grinned a little, nodding her head. "Yeah, we did. We came a long way, that's for sure."

Before anything else was said, Danielle's phone rang on the table, to which she picked it up and answered. "What, Dean?" Pause. "No, we haven't found anything yet. What about you?" Another pause. "Wait, you're going where? Lloyd's Bar?" She was silent again one last time. "Okay, well, see you later, then." She hung up the phone, rubbing her forehead.

"What is it?" Juniper asked.

"Dean and Sam think some bar outside of town might be a place worth checking out."

"What did Dean say?" she asked.

"He and Sam went to talk to Sean's business partner. Apparently, he wasn't always the greatest architect around. It's like he got a miracle overnight ten years ago. Then, they went to see Dr. Silvia Pearlman, the youngest chief surgeon they've ever had at the hospital here. Got the job ten years ago. Coincidence, right?"

"Yeah, it is." Juniper paused for a moment, then pressed on. "So what does this have to do with Lloyd's Bar?"

"Well, that's what we hope to find out when they get there."

So the girls waited around for the boys to come back while still looking for any clues or answers as to what was going on. Juniper thought her head was about to explode as she kept on reading. So far, there was nothing else she could see that Sam possibly missed. If anything, she was the one missing something.

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door, to which Danielle stood up to open it.

"We got something," Dean said as he and Sam strolled in wearing their casual clothing from earlier.

"Since when did you two have time to change?" Danielle asked.

"Does it matter?" he retorted, holding up a small metal box in front of her. "Like I said, we got something."

"Whatcha got?" Juniper questioned.

Sam spoke up this time. "Well, we went to the bar and saw yarrow flowers planted all over the place. Sounds familiar to you, doesn't it, Dani?"

Danielle widened her eyes at Sam. "Yarrow flowers are only used for--"

"--summoning rituals," Dean finished for her. "Which is exactly what Sean and Dr. Pearlman did ten years ago at Lloyd's Bar."

Danielle grabbed the box from Dean and opened it, showing Juniper what was inside. "Graveyard dirt, a black cat bone...guys, this is serious hoodoo shit."

"Yeah, we know," Dean replied.

"So what are we dealing with?" Juniper asked.

"Crossroad demons and hellhounds," Sam explained. "You go to a crossroad, summon a demon with those items and a picture of yourself, make a deal, then it comes back and catches up to you."

"Deals with a demon always come at a price: your soul," Danielle added. "But the ones so desperate to make the deal don't know that."

"And that is why we're going to stick around and help anyone else who may have struck a bargain with a demon," Sam said, turning towards Dean, who looked unenthusiastic about it.

"So where do we go now?" Danielle questioned.

Dean pulled out a small photo of a young man, letting the girls glance at it. "We go pay someone a visit."

*******

"What's this guy's name again?" Sam asked as the four of them were walking up the stairs of an old apartment building.

"George Darrow. Apparently quite the regular at Lloyd's," Dean answered, looking around. "This house probably ain't up next on MTV Cribs, is it?"

"Yeah," Sam said with a light chuckle. "So, whatever kind of deal he made..."

"It wasn't for cash. Who knows? Maybe his place is full of babes in Princess Leia bikinis." Dean smirked at this.

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Yes, because it's so hard picking up a girl."

"Well, you certainly don't make it easy," Dean said.

"Or maybe we just have certain standards that you can't meet," Juniper stated, raising her eyebrows.

Sam and Danielle shared an amused look.

Dean, however, huffed a sigh. "Look, I'm just saying, this guy's got one epic bill come due. Hope at least he asked for something fun."

After walking up four flights of stairs, the group stopped at the next door around the corner: 4C. The first thing they noticed was the line of some black substance along the bottom of the door. The boys were the first to bend down to get a good look at what it was.

"What is that, pepper?" Dean asked, sniffing it.

Danielle was next to see what it was, feeling the black matter within her fingers. "No, it's not pepper, dumbass. It's goofer dust."

"It's what?" Dean questioned her, his eyebrows furrowed.

All of a sudden, the door opened up, revealing an older and darker man standing there, confused as the three quickly stood back up. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"George Darrow?" Dean spoke up.

"I'm not buying anything," he replied coldly, attempting to close the door in their faces.

"Whoa, whoa," Dean said before he could shut the door, then looked back down at the goofer dust. "Looks like you went for the wrong shaker, there. Usually, when you want to keep something evil out, you go for the salt."

Danielle looked over at Juniper. "I told him it wasn't pepper, didn't I?" she whispered.

George gave the four worried looks and was reluctant to speak again. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Juniper could tell that he was lying.

"Well, I'm talking about this." Dean pulled out the photo from before and showed it to George, to which the man looked shocked to see it. "Tell me, you seen that hellhound yet?"

Sam then sighed. "Look, we want to help. Please, just five minutes."

So that was how George Darrow made the choice to let them inside his apartment, where it was filled with shelves and counters of potions and knick-knacks that Juniper assumed was associated with witchcraft. She also took a glance at the paintings propped up on easels, most of which were dark and monotoned. The faded sound of blues music was all that was heard during the moment where no one said anything.

"So what's with the uh..." Dean spoke up, looking over at Danielle.

"Goofer dust," she said.

"Right, the goofer dust," Dean added.

The older man turned around once he poured himself a drink, a perplexed expression on his face. "What, you all think you know something about something, but not goofer dust?" Swiftly, he grabbed a small bag and threw it towards Dean, to which he caught it with one hand.

"Well, we know a little about a lot of things, just enough to make us dangerous," Dean said.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Hoodoo," George Darrow explained. "My grandma taught me. Keeps out demons."

Dean chuckled. "Demons, we know."

"Well, then, keep it," he stated. "Maybe it'll do you some good." He looked over at Danielle. "You already seem to know what it is."

"I know a thing or two about hoodoo," she told him. "I've done my research."

The man nodded his head. "What do you practice?"

"I don't practice anything," she replied firmly. "I only find it useful to know."

Mr. Darrow, staring at Danielle for a moment, finally turned his head back towards the boys. "Four minutes."

Sam briefly looked at Dean before speaking up again. "Mr. Darrow, we know you're in trouble."

"Yeah, that you got yourself into," Dean mumbled.

Danielle shoved him, a serious look on her face.

"But it's not hopeless, all right?" Sam kept going. "There's got to be something we can do."

The man shook his head as he sat down. "Listen, I get that you want to help, but sometimes a person makes their bed and they just got to lie down in it." He paused, leaning back in his chair. "I'm the one called that demon in the first place."

"What did you do it for?" Dean asked.

"I was weak," he responded. "I mean, who don't want to be great? Who don't want their life to mean something? I just..." He let out a sigh. "I just never thought about the price."

"Was it worth it?" Dean spoke up again.

"Hell no. Course, I asked for talent. Should have gone for fame. I'm still broke...and lonely. Just now I got this pile of paintings don't nobody want."

Juniper took a closer look at the paintings, seeing the skeletons and hollow faces on the canvases. She could see the emptiness in their eyes, how lifeless they were, as if they were staring into the deep void that George Darrow would soon see. She wondered if that was how he was feeling at the moment with his life shortly coming to an end: helpless, defeated, all out of hope.

"That wasn't the worst," George Darrow continued. "Demon didn't leave. I never counted on that. After our deal was done, the damn thing stayed at Lloyd's for a week, just chattin', makin' more deals. I tried to warn folks, but who gonna listen to an old drunk?"

"How many others are there?" Sam inquired.

"Uh, this architect, a doctor lady. I kept up with them. They been in the papers," he said, followed by a scoff. "At least they got famous."

Even though she felt bad for the man as he waited around for his fate, Juniper couldn't help but get annoyed over the fact that the idea of fame was still wrapped around this man's head. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

"Who else, George? Come on, think," Dean chimed back in.

He pondered on it for a moment, then set his drink down. "Oh, one more. Uh, nice guy, too. Hudson. Evan, I think. I don't know what he asked for. Don't matter now. We done for."

Sam shook his head in disbelief. "No. No, there's got to be a way."

"You don't get it. I don't want a way."

"Look, you don't--"

"Look, I called that thing! I brought it on myself!" Mr. Darrow shot up from his chair, his voice getting louder. "I brought it on them. I'm going to Hell, one way or another." There was a sad look in his eyes as he calmed down. "All I want is to finish my last painting. Day or two, I'm done. I'm just tryin' to hold him off till then, buy a little time." Finally, he let out one last sigh. "Okay, time you went. Go help somebody that wants help."

"We can't just--"

"Get out!" he shouted, cutting Sam off. "I got work to do."

"You don't really want to die," Sam said.

"I don't?" He looked at the four for a moment, then continued. "I'm tired," was all he said before he went back to his unfinished painting.

"Come on, let's go," Danielle muttered, motioning towards the door.

While she and the Winchesters headed for the door first, Juniper turned her head at the man and his painting, in which he kept his focus on his brush strokes.

"Your paintings are beautiful," Juniper stated.

George Darrow slowly stopped what he was doing and turned around to face the girl. "Some story they all have, huh?"

"Well, you're the one that's telling it," Juniper pointed out. "You can always change their endings."

"And if I don't?"

Juniper shrugged her shoulders. "That's your choice. Just be certain you're making the right one."

When he didn't say anything else, she turned around and was the last one out, closing the door behind her, hoping he knew that she wasn't just referring to his paintings.

*******

The four regrouped back at the motel in the Winchester's room, eating Chinese takeout as they came up with a plan for when they went to visit Even Hudson next. None of them were sure what to expect, but they were hoping that Evan would want a way out of his fate, unlike George Darrow, who already accepted his own. In a way, Juniper felt bad for George, but if he didn't want to be saved, then that was his choice, and he could live out the rest of his last few days in misery with the consequence he now had to face.

"Do you think George will change his mind?" Sam questioned the others.

"He seemed sure it was what he wanted," Danielle replied. "Maybe what Junie said to him before we left will gnaw at his brain enough that he'll want to reconsider."

"Yeah, well, let's just hope it's not too late if he does," Dean added.

Juniper wanted what she said to George to sink into his mind, but she was doubtful. She knew he still had some time to rethink his choice, but only time would tell if he actually accepted defeat.

"Okay, so what's the plan once we get to Evan's house?" Danielle asked.

"We talk to him, hope that he agrees to let us help him," Sam answered.

"And what if he doesn't?" Juniper inquired.

"Then we get out of this town and move on," Dean said almost in a harsh tone.

"Dean--"

"Sam, I've told you already that we should've just let these hellhounds do their job and not clean up everyone's mess."

"And I told you that we can't just leave them here to die, even if they did screw up big time." Sam paused, shooting his brother almost with a sorrowful look. "None of them knew what they were doing or what they were bargaining for when they made a deal with a demon. Our job is to help people, and that's what we're gonna do."

Dean huffed a sigh out of frustration. "Look, if this Evan dude doesn't want us to help him, then we pack our things and go. We can't stay here forever trying to figure out how to stop the hellhounds."

With some reluctance, Sam nodded his head. "Okay."

So once the four were done with their food, they made sure their guns were loaded before heading for Evan's house. They piled in Dean's Impala like they were going to George's place.

"Don't even think about pulling a cigarette out, Dani," Dean told her as he started the engine.

She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going to, asshole."

"You better not," he mumbled once he started driving.

It was a short ride across town, not saying too much to one another. Juniper looked out the window as they passed every street light and building lit up for the night. She thought about Evan the closer they got to his home, wondering if the agony of waiting for a hellhound to come drag him away was getting to him. She couldn't imagine how awful it must've been to try to hold onto what little time one had left, the regret looming over them the second they heard a dog barking or growling. It was horrible to think about.

The front porch light was off as they parked on the street in front of Evan Hudson's house, the only source of light coming from the house was the windows on the door and to their left. Walking up the stairs, Juniper began to get nervous, and it didn't help that she heard a dog bark echoing in the night that came from a neighbor's house a few doors down.

Sam knocked on the door a few times, where it didn't take long for a short and lanky man to open the door.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Evan Hudson?" Sam inquired.

"Yeah."

"You ever been to a bar called Lloyd's? Would have been about ten years ago," Dean blurted.

Before they knew it, Even hurriedly slammed the door and locked it, to which the four jumped a bit at his reaction.

"Come on, we're not demons!" Dean shouted.

Danielle let out a groan. "Good job, Dean," she said sarcastically.

Sam scoffed. "Any other bright ideas?"

Dean looked at the door, taking a step back before kicking his foot against it, just about breaking the door out of the frame.

"Well, that's one way to open a door," Juniper commented.

The four checked the living room and kitchen first, then headed down a hallway to find a few more closed doors. Dean was the first to spot the door on the left, preparing himself to kick it down like the other one.

"Wait!" Sam grabbed his leg and shot him a stern look, turning around and pushing the knob down to open it.

They headed inside and looked around the office, only to find it unoccupied from what they saw.

"Evan?" Sam called out.

"Please!" Evan came out of hiding with his hands up in defense, a desperate look on his face. "Don't hurt me."

"We're not gonna hurt you. All right? We're here to help you," Sam assured him.

"We know all about the genius deal you made," Dean told him.

Evan's expression turned confused. "What? How?"

"Doesn't matter. All that matters is we're trying to stop it," Sam replied.

"How do I know that you're not lying?" Evan questioned.

"Well, you don't, but you're kind of running low on options there, buddy boy," Dean retorted.

"And by the looks of it, you seem pretty desperate to get out of whatever deal you made," Danielle added. "Which means, you really don't have a choice but to trust us if you want us to help you."

Evan sighed with a shaky breath, his head down. "Can you stop it?"

"Don't know. We'll try," Sam admitted.

"I don't want to die," he whimpered.

"Of course you don't. Not now."

"Dean..." Sam mumbled his way.

"What'd you ask for, anyway, Ev, huh? Never need Viagra, bowl a perfect game, what?"

Evan looked up at Dean for a moment before he replied. "My wife."

Juniper's heart dropped to her stomach.

But Dean only chuckled at this. "Right, getting the girl. That's worth a trip to Hell for."

"Dean, stop," Sam repeated.

"No, he's right. I made the deal." Evan approached the boys. "Nobody twisted my arm. That, uh, woman, or whatever she was, at the bar, she said I could have anything I wanted. I thought she was nuts at first, but..." He took a moment to himself, letting out a sigh. "I don't know. I was...I was desperate."

"Desperate?" Sam repeated.

Evan turned around and leaned against his desk. "Julie was dying."

It only took that for Juniper's heart to ache even more for him.

"You did it to save her?" Dean asked.

"She had cancer. They had stopped treatment. They were moving her into hospice. They kept saying, 'matter of days.'" Pausing, he turned back around to face the four. "So, yeah, I made the deal, and I'd do it again. I'd have died for her on the spot."

Juniper observed the pain in his face and eyes as he talked about his wife. She understood how that felt, how someone could love another person so much that they'd do anything for them no matter what the consequences would be. Eric would've done the same for her, and if the roles were switched, then she would've done the same for him. If anything, both of them were desperate when it came to each other.

"Did you ever think about her in all this?" Dean asked Evan.

"I did this for her," he protested

"You sure about that?" he retorted. "I think you did it for yourself, so you wouldn't have to live without her. But, guess what, she's gonna have to live without you now. What if she knew how much it cost? What if she knew it cost your soul? How do you think she'd feel?"

"Okay, that's enough," Sam told him.

"No, I don't think he realizes what he's done," Dean snapped.

"Dean, back off," Danielle intervened.

"Tell me something, would you have done the same for someone you love?" Evan spoke up.

When Dean didn't respond, that was when Juniper stepped forward to cut into the conversation.

"I know how you feel, Evan," she said, looking down at her engagement ring. "I would've done the same thing for my fiancé if he was still alive." Her eyes began to burn from tears that were forming. "You did what you thought was right and what you thought would help her. There was no way you knew this would happen."

Evan gave Juniper a sad look in response.

"Look, Evan, just sit tight, all right? We're gonna figure this out," Sam said, then motioned the others to leave the office and go back out in the hallway. "You all right, Dean?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Dean retorted.

Sam shrugged. "You just got a little intense back there, that's all."

"Well, I'm fine," he told him.

Sam then turned to face Juniper. "You okay, June?"

She nodded her head, still feeling the pain of thinking about Eric in her chest. "I'm fine."

Dean was in deep thought for a moment, then looked up at the other three. "All right, I got an idea." He reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out the bag of goofer dust, handing it to Sam. "You and Dani throw George's hoodoo at that hellhound, keep it away from Evan as long as you can. Junie and I are gonna go to the crossroads and summon the demon."

Sam furrowed his eyebrows. "Summon-- are you nuts?"

"Maybe a little," Dean admitted.

"One of us could've told you that," Danielle said. "What exactly is your plan once you summon it?"

"I can trap it. I can exorcise it and I can buy us some time to figure out something more permanent."

"Yeah, but how much time?" Sam pointed out.

"I don't know. A while. It's not easy for those suckers to claw their way back from Hell and into the sunshine."

"No. No way." Sam shook his head.

"Not allowed to say no, Sammy, unless you got a better idea."

"Dean, you can forget it, all right? I'm not letting you and June summon that demon."

"Why do you even want me to go with you, anyway?" Juniper spoke up.

"Because it's too risky for you to stay here and try to fight off a hellhound," Dean said. "If something happens to you..."

No, that can't be the only reason, she thought. He knows what happened last time when I was around a demon.

"She'll be fine with one of us," Danielle intervened. "Let Junie stay here and I'll go with you."

"And have another demon possess you? I don't think so," Dean retorted. "She'll be safer with me."

"Look, I don't like where your head is at right now," Sam told him.

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been on edge ever since we found that crossroads, Dean, and I think I know why."

"We don't have time for this..."

"Dad."

Suddenly, Juniper could feel the tension in the room as it hovered over them. While she hardly knew anything about their dad, it was obvious that Sam was onto something when he mentioned him, along with the way Dean's face grew stiff.

"You think maybe Dad made one of these deals, huh?" Sam asked. "Hell, I've been thinking it. I'm sure you've been thinking it, too."

Dean was quiet for a moment, staring at Sam as his face became less tight and more soft. "It fits, doesn't it? I'm alive, Dad's dead. Yellow-eyed demon was involved. What if he did? What if he struck a deal? My life for his soul."

There went that name again: Yellow Eyes. Juniper was beginning to get more and more curious as to who Yellow Eyes was, especially if the demon was the reason she was involved in all of this in the first place.

"Hey, guys, I think I hear it! It's outside!" Evan yelled from his office.

All of sudden, everyone got back into focus.

"Just keep him alive, okay?" Dean turned his head towards Sam and Danielle.

"But, Dean--" Sam started to say.

"Go. Come on, Junie."

So Juniper followed Dean back outside and rushed to get inside the Impala, to which Dean started the engine as fast as he could, then floored it as he drove down the street. She began to get nervous, tugging at her engagement ring to calm her down.

"Did you really mean what you said back there?" Dean spoke up, breaking the silence. "About your fiancé, I mean."

Looking over at Dean, she nodded her head. "Yeah, I did mean it."

"So you would've sold your soul for him."

"If it meant I could save him, then yeah, I would have."

Dean shook his head, scoffing. "Did you hear anything I told Evan?"

"Wouldn't you have done the same for someone you love?" she retorted. "How about for Sam or for Dani? You're not seriously telling me that you wouldn't have done it for either one of them."

Dean was silent, just like when Evan asked him earlier, and that was all Juniper needed in order to know what his answer would've been.

"Why did you want me to come with you?" she asked.

"I already told you."

"Dean, you saw how I was when Dani was possessed. I can't go through that again."

"You won't," he told her. "Look, you get used to it when you've seen enough demons or spirits or any other supernatural monster on jobs, and you can't be terrified of demons for the rest of your life after one encounter." He paused, exhaling loudly. "And as I was saying before, if something did happen to you back at Evan's house, then none of us would be able to forgive ourselves. I mean, I'm pretty much the reason you're here in the first place, seeing that you've had many dreams about me." He chuckled at this.

Juniper playfully rolled her eyes. "Do you turn everything into a dirty joke?"

"It's my specialty."

"Well, maybe this yellow-eyed demon has something to do with it more than you," she said. "Do you think that's the case?"

Dean's face got serious again. "Maybe. We're still working on getting some answers for you."

"Well, how about telling me where there is to know about this demon like you said you would? Yellow Eyes, right? I'd like to know more about that, especially if it has anything to do with me."

"Junie, we said we'd tell you about it, and we will," Dean said firmly. "We're not gonna leave you in the dark about it, okay? You're gonna get answers and we're gonna keep you safe. I promise."

With reluctance, Juniper turned her attention back on the road and pressed her back against the seat.

The crossroads and bar were empty when they got there, which made it perfect for Dean and Juniper to summon the demon without any interruptions. He parked the Impala away from the bar and across a small water tower.

"All right, first things first..." Dean said as he and Juniper got out of the car. "Do you remember reading about the Devil's Trap?"

"Vaguely," Juniper said honestly.

Dean nodded. "Better than nothing." He went to the trunk and grabbed some salt and chalk, along with the journal he had inside his jacket. He flipped through the pages until he came across a picture for Juniper to see. "Okay, so take the salt and draw out this trap. Make sure every symbol is right and don't leave any lines broken."

Juniper nodded her head and got to work on the trap, going back and forth between the trap in the gravel road and the one drawn out in the journal. When she was done sprinkling the rest of the salt down, she watched Dean finish up drawing his trap under the tower, then he went back towards her to make sure the one she drew was good to go, taking the journal back from her.

"Not bad," he said. "All right, let me move Baby over this trap."

"Baby?" she repeated, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, that's the name of my car," he told her.

She couldn't help but let out a snort. "I'm sorry, but...who names their car?"

He rolled his eyes in response. "Hey, my car means a lot to me, okay?"

Juniper kept her grin for a moment as Dean moved the Impala over the trap, to which she went back and made sure the circle was enclosed. Dean got out of the car, the metal box from before in his hand, along with a picture from one of his fake IDs that he placed inside.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Juniper asked him.

"June Bug, if there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I'm never sure about anything," he said truthfully.

She nodded her head in response, almost rolling her eyes when that horrid nickname came out of his mouth. "Oh, that's reassuring," she commented sarcastically.

"Well, on a serious note, just remember to not trust anything the demon says," he told her. "They'll say just about anything to get under your skin."

Dean continued to bury the box into the hole, then slowly stood up once it was completely covered. As the two waited, Juniper could feel her heart beating faster as she got anxious. She just had to tell herself to not listen to the demon, to not let their words get into her head.

Demons lie, she thought. Don't fall for whatever they say, Juniper.

"So, what brings a guy like you to a place like this?" a voice from behind said, revealing a woman with wavy, brown hair in a black dress as she raised her eyebrows and smirked Dean's way. "You called me?"

"I'm just glad it worked," Dean said, slightly smiling as his eyes scanned up and down her body.

"First time?" she asked.

"You could say that," he answered.

The demon strutted towards him. "Oh, come on, now. Don't sell yourself short. I know all about you, Dean Winchester." Her eyes slowly turned red, along with her voice becoming almost sinister-like for a brief moment.

"So you know who I am," he said.

"I get the newsletter." She looked over at Juniper, tilting her head. "I know some things about you, too, Juniper Langley."

Juniper raised her eyebrows in surprise. How the hell did the demon know who she was?

"Well, don't keep us in suspense." Dean got closer towards the demon. "What have you heard?"

The demon kept her smug as she circled around Dean. "Well, I heard you were handsome. You're just edible." She giggled, then headed for Juniper next. "And you...aren't you a pretty thing. Not much of a talker, though, unlike what a certain demon down below was telling."

Juniper's expression turned almost shocking. Why was the demon she met in Baltimore talking about her?

"What else did you hear about me from this demon?" she asked.

"Oh, not much else, but the way he talked about your fiancé..." She giggled. "I have to say, you were one lucky girl." Pausing, she held her stare on Juniper. "Or maybe he was one lucky guy."

Juniper let out a shaky breath, just inches away from the woman. She could feel her palms getting sweaty as the tension only went higher. There was an uneasiness coming over her, and all she could do was look to Dean for help, which he took notice of right away.

"How about we get back to why we're here, yeah?" He quickly stepped in between Juniper and the demon, to which Juniper was grateful that he interjected when he did.

The demon sighed as she backed away. "Okay, then. What can I do for you, Dean?"

"Maybe we should do this in my car. Nice and private."

"Don't you want Juniper to join us? It'd be one hell of a party, huh?"

"Well, you know two's company, three's a crowd," Dean stated. "Besides, I'm the one that summoned you."

The demon stared at Juniper for a moment, then back at Dean. "Fine."

Dean looked over at Juniper and motioned her to move towards the water tower. She obliged and hurriedly went to stand by the tower as she watched the two stroll towards the Impala.

"So, I was hoping we could strike a deal," she heard Dean say.

"That's what I do," the demon replied.

"I want Evan Hudson released from his contract."

Well, way to get to the point, Dean, Juniper thought.

"So sorry, darling. That's not negotiable," the demon stated.

"I'll make it worth your while," he told her.

"Oh, really? What are you offering?"

"Me."

Juniper widened her eyes as they approached the Impala. What the hell was he doing?

The demon raised her eyebrows in surprise as she smirked towards Dean. "Well, well, well. You'd sacrifice your life for someone else's. Like father, like son."

Dean only looked at her, not responding.

"You did know about your dad's deal, right? His life for yours. I didn't make the deal myself, but, boy, I wish I had."

Slowly smirking, Dean opened the car door, motioning the demon to go inside. "After you," he said.

"Such a gentleman," she commented, about to step in the car when she looked down at the salt under the car, her expression turning angry. "A Devil's Trap? You've got to be kidding me."

"Oh, shit," Juniper mumbled.

The demon's nostrils flared up, shaking her head. "You stupid, stupid..." She slammed the car door. "I should rip you from limb to limb, and I'll do the same to that bitch over there once I'm done with you."

"Take your best shot," Dean retorted, backing away from her.

She stopped in her tracks, her eyes filling up with irritation. "No, I don't think so. I'm not gonna put you out of your misery."

"Yeah? Why not?"

"'Cause your misery is the whole point. It's too much fun to watch. Knowing how your daddy died for you, how he sold his soul. I mean, that's got to hurt." She had Dean backed into one of the poles of the tower, and Juniper could see the pain in his eyes at the way she mentioned his dad. "He's all you ever think about. You wake up, and your first thought is, 'I can't do this anymore.' You're all lit up with pain. I mean, you loved him so much, and it's all your fault. Juniper over here understands the guilt you feel. Isn't that right?"

When Juniper felt eyes on her, her breath hitched, knowing that the demon was right. There was always the ping of guilt that she felt whenever she thought back to that last day with Eric, how there was the hole in her chest, the ache that never went away ever since she left Baltimore with the Winchesters.

Still, giving up wasn't an option. No one wanted that for her. She wished Dean knew that applied to him, too, and the demon was just taunting him.

The demon let out a chuckle. "Anyway, you blew it, Dean. I could have given you what you need."

"What do I need?" he asked harshly.

"Your father."

Dean froze, and Juniper felt the tension loom over the three.

"I could have brought him back," the demon continued, then huffed a sigh. "Your loss. See ya, Dean." She turned her head towards Juniper. "Goodbye, Juniper. I wish you both a nice, long life." With that, she spun on her heel and began to walk away.

Juniper walked towards Dean. "So what now?" she whispered.

Dean, looking like he was close to panicking, nodded towards Juniper, as if he was trying to tell her that he had it under control. "Hold on!" he called out to the woman.

The demon took a moment before turning around again, the smug still on her face. "You're lucky I've got a soft spot for lost puppies and long faces. I just can't leave you like this. Besides, you didn't call me here to bargain for Evan. Not really."

"Can you bring him back? My dad?" Dean asked.

"What?" Juniper spoke up. This wasn't a part of the plan.

"Of course I can, just as he was," the demon replied. "Your dad would live a long, natural life, like he was meant to. That's a promise."

"What about me?"

"I could give you ten years. Ten long, good years with him. That's a lifetime. The family could be together again-- John, Dean, Sammy. The Winchester boys all reunited."

"Dean..." Juniper began to say, but ended up trailing off. How could she convince him not to make the deal?

The demon walked towards Dean under the tower, to which Juniper then remembered the trap right above them, and some relief from his plan came to her.

"Look, your dad is supposed to be alive, and you're supposed to be dead," the demon continued. "So, we'll just set things straight, put things back in their natural order, and you get ten extra years on top. That's a bonus."

With it being the first time hearing any of this, Juniper was shocked. There wasn't much else she knew about their dad and his death, not thinking any time to ask was appropriate, but she could see the way Dean wanted to squirm away from the subject, as if it was taboo.

So that was what he did. He walked away from the demon and out from under the tower, and she didn't follow him. "You think you could..." Trailing off, he turned around, almost a desperate expression on his face. "...throw in a set of steak knives?"

Juniper had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at his snarky remark, especially when Evan's life was on the line.

The demon chuckled, shaking her head. "You know, this smartass self-defense mechanism of yours--" She suddenly stopped when she realized that she couldn't go any farther, looking up to see the Devil's Trap drawn above. "Dean..."

"Now you're really trapped," he told her, a slight smirk coming across his face. "That's got to hurt."

"Let me out now," she demanded.

"Sure. We just gotta make a little deal here first," he replied. "You call off your hellhound and let Evan go. Then I'll let you go."

"I can't break a binding contract."

"By 'can't,' you mean, 'don't want to'?" Dean retorted, raising his eyebrows. "Last chance. Evan and his wife get to live to a ripe old age." When the demon didn't respond, he continued. "Going...going..."

"Let's talk about this--"

"Okay, gone."

"Wait, Dean..." Juniper stepped in again.

"She had her chance," he said, pulling out the journal from before.

"What are you doing?" the demon asked.

"Oh, you're just gonna go on a little trip," he told her, holding up a brown rosary. "Way down south."

"Dean, what about Evan?" Juniper mumbled his way.

"Look, forget Evan," the demon added. "Think of your dad." When Dean didn't react to this, she shifted her attention towards Juniper. "What if I told you I could bring back Eric?"

Juniper was stunned for a moment, then shook her head in disbelief. "No, because if you could do that, then that would mean..." She didn't even want to say it or even get that horrifying idea in her head. She refused to believe that he was there in Hell.

"I know you miss him, Juniper," the demon stated, her tone a bit softer than usual. "I mean, you two were in love and happy together, and to have that ripped away from you so sudden..." She shook her head, sighing. "I bet it was hard to come home to find him dead on the floor, and I can bring him back good as new for you two to be together for ten more years. After all, if it's anything like what happened to Dean's father, then that means Eric wasn't supposed to die."

Juniper tried her best not to let her guard down, not to let the demon try to lure her down a trap she couldn't escape. Maybe in a twisted way, it sounded promising, to live out the next ten years with Eric as the last golden years of her life, filled with pure bliss and not caring about anyone else. Just them, together like the way it was before, like it should've been.

But this wasn't about her. This was about Evan, and when Juniper didn't respond, that was Dean's cue to intervene again.

"Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino', qui fertis super caelum caeli ad Orientem. Ecce dabit voci Suae, vocem virtutis. Tribuite virtuem Deo..."

As Dean kept going, Juniper listened carefully, taking a mental note that she needed to study the words for whenever she had to recite them. She watched as the demon began to shudder, gritting her teeth and grunted as she got closer to being exorcised out of her vessel. Thinking back to Dani's exorcism, this one seemed more tamed with the demon trapped and nowhere to go.

"Wait!" the demon cried out, finally having enough of the torment.

Dean stopped and looked up to face her. "Ready to take my offer?"

Panting, she did her best to compose herself as Dean took a few steps forward. Once he was closer to her, she grabbed him and slammed her lips onto his. Juniper, with wide eyes, quickly turned her head as they made out for a moment. Even when she was sure they had stopped, she kept her face hidden from them.

"What the hell was that for?" Dean asked, to which Juniper decided to turn around again.

"Sealing the deal," the demon explained.

"I usually like to be warned before I'm violated with demon tongue," he retorted.

"Well, you certainly didn't seem to mind it," she said, raising her eyebrows, then glancing towards Juniper. "Want a quick parting gift, too, Junie?"

"No, I'm good," she said.

"What, you don't swing that way?"

She scoffed. "That's definitely not the reason," she replied, and Dean had an astonished expression on his face.

The demon rolled her eyes. "You'll think differently about us demons sooner or later. Just you wait." She then turned back towards Dean. "Anyway, Evan Hudson is free. He and his wife will live long lives."

"How do I know you're not lying?" Dean inquired.

"My word is my bond."

"Oh, really?"

"It is when I make a deal. It's the rules." She paused, sighing. "You got what you wanted. Now let me go."

With some reluctance, Dean looked down at the rosary in his hand, rubbing it against his fingers.

"You're gonna double-cross me? Funny how I'm the trustworthy one," the demon snarled. "You know, you renege, send me to Hell, sooner or later I'm gonna climb out, and skinning Evan Hudson will be the first thing that I do."

"Dean, come on, let's go," Juniper told him. She didn't want to stay here any longer now that Evan was okay.

So Dean climbed up the tower until he reached the trap and broke the wood, to which the demon strolled out, spinning on her heel one more time to face the two.

"I gotta tell you, you would have never pulled that stunt if you knew," she commented.

"Knew what?" Dean asked.

"Where your dad is." She shot him with her sly smirk like before. "You should've made that deal. See, people talk about Hell, but it's just a word. Doesn't even come close to describing the real thing."

"Shut your mouth, bitch," Dean snapped.

"If you could see your poor daddy, hear the sounds he makes 'cause he can't even scream."

"I said, shut your--"

"And then there's innocent Eric," the demon continued, making Juniper tense up. "Poor boy doesn't stand a chance with what they do to him down there."

"You're lying," Juniper spat.

Don't listen to her, Juniper. He's not there. He's not in Hell.

"Am I, though? Maybe you just don't want to admit that he got sent down to be tortured to the point where he can't handle it anymore." She let out a malice chuckle. "The way those demons can bring such agony to a precious soul like him--"

"How about I send you back down with them, then?" Dean threatened.

Before he could get back to the exorcism, the demon arched her head back and escaped from the woman, letting out a loud roar that echoed into the night sky. The woman fell on the gravel ground, and she looked up with confused and scared eyes.

"What? How did I get here?" she asked, her voice shaky.

Dean and Juniper exchanged looks as they helped the woman up and escorted her to Lloyd's.

*******

"You okay, June Bug?"

The two were on their way back to Evan's house after helping the woman call a friend of hers to come pick her up from the bar, leaving after they were convinced that she was safe. Like before with Danielle, Juniper had a hard time seeing her as an innocent human and not as the demon that kept taunting her about Eric. It was happening all over again, and Juniper didn't want those bad thoughts to invade her head when they weren't true.

"Yeah, I'm good," she replied. "What about you?"

Dean let out a chuckle in response. "I've dealt with many demons before, so it's nothing new to me."

"But all those things she said about your dad..."

His smile faded. "She was just trying to get into my head. That's what demons do."

"It seems like you believed her, though," Juniper pointed out. "Kind of ironic you don't listen to your own advice."

"Well, did you believe all that crap she was saying about your fiancé?" he retorted.

Juniper kept her mouth shut, thinking about his question more. Did she really think that Eric was in Hell, that the demon could be right? If that was the case, then she did exactly what Dean told her not to do, and that was to not let the demon's words get under her skin.

Then again, it was as if that was exactly what the demon did to him.

"I want to believe Eric is in a better place," she finally stated. "I'd like to think he's at peace. You know, away from this world filled with..." She trailed off, grabbing a hold of her ring.

"Filled with monsters," Dean finished.

Juniper nodded her head. "Yeah, exactly."

The rest of the ride was quiet, and it didn't take long for Dean to pull right back up in front of Evan's house like before. Juniper was the first to get out of the Impala, turning to head up the steps.

"Hey," Dean called out, to which she turned around. "You've got a lot of potential."

Juniper furrowed her brows. "To what, be a good hunter?"

Dean smirked, chuckling. "Well, to be a badass hunter like me."

She snorted. "Now you're just being cocky."

His face softened. "I do mean it, though. You'll get better as time goes on."

Juniper smiled a little at this, knowing that she was making progress, even if it was baby steps.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Dean spoke up. "What you said when the demon offered you that 'parting gift'..."

Her face got hot. "How about you tell me about this yellow-eyed demon first?" she suggested, changing the subject.

Dean nodded his head. "It's a deal." When he realized what he said, his eyebrows went up. "You wanna seal it with--"

"I'll just take your word for it," she cut him off, to which she let out a giggle as she and Dean headed inside Evan's house.

~~~~~~~

A/N: I can't believe I'm actually writing the episodes now! I'm so excited!

What do y'all think so far? I'd appreciate any comments, as it really helps me stay motivated to keep writing!

Comment, (pretty please?) vote, next chapter drops 03/22!

-A