Growing up, Selina wasn't what you would describe as a stereotypical little girl. She wasn't obsessed with princesses or fairy tales. She didn't play with babies or dolls — unless Dean's army men counted, as when it came to toys, that was the only one John ever allowed her to actually play with.

It wasn't until she started staying at Bobby's did Selina even find out that Barbie dolls were a thing as he'd offered to go out and buy her one if it meant she got a chance at a normal childhood. But by then she was too far gone, and instead asked him to teach her the basics of hunting, which at first Bobby wasn't too fussed about doing given her age, but after finding out that Selina would often cry herself to sleep any time John told her that 'little girls don't hunt' then continuously yelled at her to stop asking, he was a lot more inclined to do so if it meant she wouldn't have to go through that again.

Funny how John would tell her little girls didn't hunt yet anytime she tried to act like one, he'd shut it down almost instantly. Hell, at one time he'd thrown her stuffed rabbit out the car window because he said it looked "too girly", and to this day it still broke Selina's heart to think about her bunny lying all alone on the highway, getting splashed by passing cars and left to wonder why she'd abandoned him.

To tell the truth, John didn't even let Selina experience looking like a little girl, let alone anything else remotely similar.

Any time her hair would get too long, and by too long she means shoulder length, John would cut it until it resembled something like Dean's, despite the fact that Selina would cry and beg him not to until she was literally hoarse. Even her wardrobe consisted of Dean's old clothes, all of which were either too big for her or had holes in the neckline from where he used to chew on them, and because of that, for the majority of her childhood Selina would often get mistaken for a boy.

However, she was never allowed to say anything about it, not when she knew what John would do to her if she did.

Selina had learned the hard way about how far John was willing to go in denying her her childhood when she'd been brave enough to ask him if he'd get her a new stuffed toy to sleep with at night. She hadn't realised then that it was the anniversary of Mary's death and that John had been drinking, meaning that instead of a simple answer to her question, he hit her.

And that wasn't the only time he'd raised his hands to her either. She'd never forget the day Bobby saw the bruises and asked her what happened, to which she broke down in tears as she told him, and the second John showed up to collect her, Bobby pulled his gun on him. Obviously he didn't shoot him, despite how much he wished he could, but that was the last time he ever saw John, and the last time he saw Selina until about six years later, when she'd just turned eighteen and had had enough of John's tyranny over her.

By then her style was fully set in stone, and whilst it may have been a case of she still preferred shopping in the men's section as to the woman's, she didn't overly mind because at least then she got a choice. Even to this day her style remained the same as it was, with some slight difference in that she was a little more gothic now and often liked to show off her assets whenever she could by wearing stuff that was a tad bit too small for her.

However, there was one thing that changed more drastically than anything else, and that was, her hair. When Selina left she finally got the chance to get rid of the blonde that she couldn't help but think was the reason behind John's behaviour towards her. She finally got the chance to grow her hair out to any length she wanted and to experience what it felt like to have long, luscious locks.

And no matter the circumstances, or how much blood ended up caked in it after a hunt, she never ever cut it any shorter than just above her waist.

The day she dyed it was the day she knew she was free and since then Selina had grown to finally love her hair and how it made her feel about herself, so you can only imagine how broken she must feel now that it was no longer down to her waist and instead rested just above her shoulders.

She'd never be forgiving Dean for being the reason she had to do this. Had it not been for him and his idiotic attempt at trying to break the world record of blowing the largest bubblegum bubble possible, then she never would have had to cut it.

It didn't help that it was her time of the month either, meaning every time she so much as thought about what had happened she'd start crying, only making Dean avoid her even more. Not that she cared, she was pissed at him so it was probably best he stay away from her for a little while, otherwise he may end up bald.

"Many theorists believe that Mary Jane Kelly was Jack The Ripper's intended target due to the extensive way in which he mutilated her corpse."

"Maybe she forced him to have to cut his hair and that's why he killed her." Selina mumbled under her breath as she sat in front of her partially broken mirror, staring at herself and still feeling such intense anger boiling in her veins that not even a podcast about her favourite unsolved mystery seemed to be able to help simmer it. 

For the past hour she'd been trying to figure out some way to style her hair now that the majority of her curls had been cut off, leaving her with lifeless, limp waves that barely had any definition and made her want to become a bit like old Jack and go on a murder spree, which would be unlucky for Sam as he just so happened to knock on Selina's door right as she fought with the urge to rip her hair out at root.

"Cat, can I come in?" Sam called warily through the door, remaining patient until Selina had gathered her emotions enough to allow herself to be seen by others.

"As long as he isn't with you." Selina called back, sighing a little as she closed her eyes and wished she'd never decided to leave her room yesterday as maybe then this never would have happened.

"He isn't." Sam replied, slowly turning the handle and pushing the door open just a crack in order to peer inside and make sure it was truly safe for him to enter. And it was, as Selina hadn't even turned around from where she sat at her vanity, her chin resting in her hands to the point where her cheeks were a little smushed as she did nothing but stare sadly at herself, making Sam's face soften as he stepped inside and said, "He didn't do it on purpose, Cat... He knows how much having long hair means to you."

"I know," Selina sighed defeatedly, dragging her hand down her face to the point where it stretched out her skin with how much pressure she used. She sucked in a breath, doing her best to ignore how it trembled as she slowly turned around to face her twin, her voice breaking gently as she added, "It just brings back memories, you know?"

"I know," Sam said softly, stepping further into the room as he could tell by the way that Selina's shoulders were slouched, that she was just upset. Had she been truly angry, then they would have been high and tight, leading him to believe that her anger had been nothing more than a facade to try and stop those memories flooding back. "And I know it won't make you feel any better but... It'll grow back."

"Yeah." Selina half-assedly agreed, whether or not she meant it, Sam didn't know. And frankly, neither did she.

But Sam did know enough to leave it be before he pushed her back towards anger, therefore he stayed silent as he watched Selina reach over to pause her podcast, before once again sighing in defeat as she left her hair hanging loose over her shoulders and stood up.

"If you're up for it, we think we might have found a case." Sam said carefully, as any mention of Dean might push her over the edge. Selina showed no signs of her mood changing though, and instead reached around him to grab her hoodie, and so he continued, "It's local, about twenty minutes from here. Some guy claims he and his friend were attacked by an invisible creature who then proceeded to stalk them through the woods before they managed to reach their car and escape."

"Sounds riveting." Selina mumbled through the fabric of her hoodie as she threw it over her head and pulled it down over her torso, opting to keep the hood firmly up in an attempt to hide her hair. "Also sounds like a hellhound."

"That's what we're thinking too, but the thing is, I don't think either of them sold their souls." Sam told her, folding his arms across his chest as he watched Selina pick up Kit and proceed to smother him in kisses, indicating she wasn't about to ask him why and that he should know by now to expand on what he meant without further encouragement. "For starters, they're both nineteen. How many nine year olds do you know who've sold their souls?"

"I'm sure there's a few." Selina mumbled, tilting her head to the side and allowing Kit to rub the top of his over her cheek. She then glanced up, spotting the subtle frown on Sam's face over her answer, and so she sighed, "but I get your point. It seems strange that a hellhound would go after someone if they didn't sign on the dotted line."

"Exactly."

"I guess I can ask Crowley, see if he can share any insight before we go wasting our time."

That's when Sam knew Selina was truly down as she never, ever referred to investigating, or any other part of hunting, as 'wasting time' and he'd once seen her drive across the country for less. However, he said nothing, knowing that the less people pointed out his sister's moods, the more likely they were not to last.

Setting Kit down on her bed, Selina reached for her phone and opened up her text thread with Crowley, making sure to hide it from Sam as the last thing she'd sent Crowley had been a spicy-ish picture of herself and there'd be no explaining that to her brother without exposing their relationship.

"Wouldn't it be quicker to call him?" Sam asked, his eyes narrowing a little in suspicion when Selina simply pressed her lips together and tilted her phone screen closer to her chest as she glanced up at him.

"Probably," she replied, playing it as casual as she could bring herself to do given her mood. She knew Sam was right, it would be quicker, but calling Crowley without informing him first would only bring the risk of him saying something he shouldn't, and she just couldn't take that chance. "But you know how he is... He likes to talk and I'm not in the mood."

A lie. He was the only person she was in the mood to talk to, but she couldn't exactly tell Sam that. Or have that conversation in front of him.

"Texting is easier," Selina finished, and Sam nodded in agreement as she had a point. She flashed him a quick, thin-lipped smile before dropping her head and letting out a slow, quiet sigh of relief as she typed away.

Selina: Hey, we caught a case in the area that seems hellhound-y... Do you know anything about it or should we go investigate?

Instantly, those three grey dots that could make Selina's day no matter the circumstances popped up on her screen, warming her heart immensely and in a way that was so greatly needed after the past few days that it was almost enough to make what had happened to her nothing more than a distant memory.

The dots appeared for a few more seconds before finally, ding.

Crowley: He's busy ;)

And just like that, Selina's heart sank right to the floor.

"Well?" Sam questioned, only it went completely unheard by Selina, whose face appeared to have fallen more than it had done when she realised she'd have to cut her hair.

Only Sam didn't seem to notice that. He was too busy greeting Kit to pick up on it, or the way his sister's chest was moving much more rapidly than it had been a second ago. The only thing he did notice was the sudden presence of silence, causing him to glance over at her and give Selina a quick nudge to try and bring her back to reality.

And it did. That sudden touch snapped Selina clean out of the trance where she couldn't help but think her whole life was falling apart piece by piece. She shook her head and looked up, doing her best to forget about the two words on screen that had better be Crowley messing with her and not what she thought it was otherwise he would be seeing a side of her no one had ever seen before.

"Sorry, what?" Selina babbled out, her eyes narrowed as she seemed to recall hearing Sam's voice, yet it appeared as though her brain hadn't taken in his words. 

"What did it say? The text from Crowley?" Sam asked again, simply chalking her behaviour up to what had happened previously as he had no other reason to suspect that as each passing second ticked by, Selina's heart was slowly constricting in her chest.

"Oh," Selina exhaled, running her hand over her stomach that was currently churning inside her. "That uh, that wasn't him. Just Alex. Complaining that Claire stole her sweater."

"Sounds about right." Sam chuckled, giving Kit one last scratch between the ears before he stepped away, once again folding his arms over his chest. "We'll probably check it out anyway, you coming with?"

"Uh, yeah," Selina nodded, despite not wanting to move from this spot before she got answers as to what the fuck Crowley was playing at. "Just, uh... Just give me a minute and I'll meet you outside."

"Alright," Sam said, then he spun on his heels and left the room.

Before the door even clicked shut behind him Selina had already dialled Crowley's number and pressed the phone to her ear, not-so-patiently waiting for him to pick up and with each ring that echoed through her ear she grew more and more impatient.

Then suddenly, ding.

Dropping the phone instantly, Selina could feel the rage bubbling away inside of her at the sight of another text from Crowley. Or rather, another text from someone who wasn't Crowley, but was apparently with him doing God knows what.

Crowley: I would pick up but... I don't think you'd want to hear the sounds I'm making. I mean, Crowley sure is good with his fingers but they're nothing compared to his tongue ;)

Oh, Selina was not in the mood for this today and with such haste she slammed her thumb on the call button again, this time a lot harder and to the point where it might have hurt had she been able to feel anything but the wrath that was boiling in her veins. Just because she and Crowley weren't outwardly official and hadn't exactly labelled their relationship didn't mean he was free to just go off and ignore the basic rules of monogamy.

Sure, they'd never had that conversation before but it was just common decency not to sleep around when you're clearly dating someone else, right? Demon or not she would expect Crowley to know that, and if this wasn't him, or anyone else, messing with her, then she wasn't quite sure what she would do.

Selina: Crowley, this isn't funny. Pick up the phone or I swear to God we are done.

Crowley: Your loss. My gain ;)

Oh, if Selina had to see that winky face emoji one more time she was going to put her head through a wall. Taking a deep breath she lowered the phone, trying to think of a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this, like maybe someone had found out about them and stolen his phone in an attempt to break them up. Only, that didn't seem particularly likely as Crowley never let his phone out of his sight when he wasn't with Selina, not since he'd changed his background to a picture of her anyway.

Although, for all she knew he could easily change it every time he left her. But he wouldn't? Would he? That just seemed like a lot of effort, and all for nothing as it's not like she needed to be his lockscreen in order to know that he cared for her, not when anytime they were together he looked at her like she was the only girl in the world. 

Or did he? Maybe she'd been imagining that in the love induced trance she fell into any time he was around. And now she couldn't even think back to the last time he'd looked at her as every time she tried, she only ended up picturing Crowley with some other girl and it just made her heart break that much more.

There she'd been, worrying herself sick over the idea that they'd never be able to come out as a couple and yet she hadn't even considered the possibility that Crowley might cheat on her. After all, why would she? Like she'd said, he often made it exponentially clear that he only had eyes for her so she never, ever would have thought he'd give her up so easily and crush her very being like this.

Yet here he was. Or rather here someone was, destroying every ounce of trust she'd ever placed in him in the span of a few seconds. And the worst few seconds possible too.

Selina: Crowley, I'm serious. I can't take this today, please call me.

Barely a second after Selina sent that message Crowley called her, but by then, despite the short period of time in between, she wasn't sure whether she could actually stomach picking up the phone. She had no idea who, or what, she would hear on the other end and she was already feeling so incredibly fragile that even the slightest hint towards infidelity might push her past her breaking point.

And so, going against everything her heart was telling her and instead listening to her head, Selina declined the call and shoved her phone into her pocket — as well as shoving her emotions deep down inside of her to join those she never let rear their ugly heads in order to be able to focus on whatever this case was and pray that it didn't involve her having to get in touch with Crowley.

She'd deal with him at some point but right now, she just couldn't handle it .

After telling Kit to behave whilst they were gone Selina left her room, having not bothered to change out of her sweats and hoodie even when she knew they were more than likely going to have to play a roll. But she wasn't in the mood to play dress-up. Hell, she wasn't even in the mood to want to go on this case as chances are it was demon-related, but she'd already told Sam she'd be joining them and if she changed her mind he'd only ask questions and she really didn't want to have to deal with that.

All she could do was suck it up and pretend as though her whole world wasn't slowly crumbling beneath her — which was easier said than done but with Selina's experience in doing exactly that, she was confident she'd manage.

Hopefully.

Nevertheless, she carried on through the bunker's hallway, hearing the faint sound of Dean rambling on about something or another, and the closer she got to the War Room, the more she could make out what he was so adamantly arguing with Sam about.

"Look, all I'm saying is that we don't know that one of these guys didn't sell their soul."

"Dean, ten years ago they were nine." Sam defended, just as Selina slipped into the room unnoticed — by Dean anyway, who would get the shock of his life when he turned around as he hadn't seen Selina since yesterday morning when the incident, as they were calling it, occurred.

"So? Nine year olds have souls. Maybe there was a kickass skateboard he really wanted. Or a new hot wheels collection, who knows?" Dean said with a shrug, and in his own mind he was making a valid point. Kids made deals all the time, so he wasn't sure why this would be any different.

"Did you two even bother to look into these guys before you started arguing?" Selina asked, her sudden appearance causing Dean to jump and jolt away from where he was standing, turning to face her as though he were now scared to stand with his back to her.

"I did," Sam replied, stepping forward just in case he needed to get between anything. "There was nothing out of the ordinary."

"Well, there you have it," Selina exhaled, unfolding her arms and extending them a little into the air before they dropped lazily back to her sides. "Shall we go?"

"Hold on," Dean said, stopping Selina in her tracks as she headed for the stairs. "Did you hear anything back from Crowley?"

For a brief second, Selina's jaw tightened and the beating of her heart increased rapidly. She should have known they'd ask her that, yet she hadn't fully prepared herself to hear it, or come up with a plausible reason as to why she didn't want to try Crowley again. She swallowed thickly, forcing down the lump that was slowly rising in her throat as she briefly shook her head in response.

"Do you maybe wanna try him again?" Dean asked carefully, as he didn't want to come across as pushy after what happened.

"No." Selina snapped, rather harshly even despite the current circumstances, which only earned her two pairs of partially widened eyes in response. "Can we go now? I'd really like to kill something."

Selina didn't even bother waiting for a response from her brothers as she knew it would be them asking a) if she was okay and b) if Crowley had done something to her to make her not want to talk to him. Instead, she simply grabbed the car keys from where they sat atop Dean's jacket, then headed for the stairs.

"Oh no, she is not driving my car." Dean mumbled, and hurried off after her, to which Sam then followed swiftly behind as chances are he would have to step in and stop World War Three — although at this point it was probably World War One Hundred and Three as he couldn't count how many times he'd had to come between his siblings during their petty arguments.

Surprisingly though, nothing happened and by the time he reached the car, just seconds after Dean, Selina was already slumped in the backseat and it was clear she had no intentions of wanting to drive. Just as well, honestly, as with her mood, chances are she'd have driven them head first into the nearest brick wall.

Upon arriving outside the home of those who were allegedly attacked by something invisible, the first thing the Winchester siblings did was open the trunk. If this really was a hellhound then chances are it had gone rogue, meaning it would need to be put down before it killed someone. In order to do that though, they needed to be able to see it first, which is exactly why the only thing they grabbed from the trunk was a pair glasses, all of which had been blessed by holy fire and allowed them to see the hellish mutts that had once made their own lives miserable.

"So how are we doing this?" Dean asked, slamming the trunk shut before placing a pair of black rimmed, Clark Kent wannabe looking glasses on his face. "FBI? Fish and Wildlife? Animal Control? What?"

"I don't know, Animal Control maybe. Might seem more plausible," Sam replied, although he seemed hesitant. He then turned to his side, glancing towards Selina before he asked, "what do you think?"

"I don't care," Selina exhaled, pushing herself off the car and ignoring the furrowed brows of her brothers that were deep enough to wrinkle their foreheads. "Can we just get this over with?"

Once again, Selina didn't wait around long enough to gather a response from neither Sam nor Dean, who both did nothing but watch with a semi-gaped mouth as Selina headed up the property steps and towards the house. They were used to her not caring about which cover they used but to hear her say that? To have her want to get this over with ? Now that was strange, and it begged the question of whether or not there was something else going on with her besides her hair.

However, they didn't have time to ponder that and instead hurried after her, reaching the top of the stairs just as the front door of the house opened, revealing a young man with short, brown hair, a few scars littering his face and what they could only describe as the world's worst moustache.

"Lucas Turner?" Selina inquired, and the young man nodded. "We're here about your attack."

"You are?" Lucas questioned, his brow furrowed as he stood up straight from where he'd been slouched against the edge of the door. "Because the cops said..."

"We're not the cops." Sam cut him off, only adding to the visible confusion that was painted over Lucas's face. "We're uh... We are..."

"Oh my God," Selina mumbled exasperatedly under her breath, before stepping in front of Sam and stealing Lucas's attention away from him. "Look, were you attacked or not?"

"Yeah."

"And was your attacker invisible?"

"Yeah."

"Great, well we're the guys who hunt invisible attackers. So, are you gonna let us in or what?"

Dumbfounded, Lucas simply babbled out something along the lines of yeah okay as he stepped away from the door, the hinges of which creaked faintly as he drew it back in order for the siblings to enter.

"Well, that's one way to do it." Dean muttered, as he waited for Selina to make the first move towards entering the house.

However, before she could place even a single toe across the threshold of the house, a guttural, bone-chillingly deep growl swept through the air, halting everyone in place and causing multiple hairs on their necks and arms to stand up straight.

"You don't happen to have a dog, do you?" Dean asked, partially humorously, towards Lucas, whose marked face had drained of any colour and who could barely shake his head in response he was so paralysed with fear. "Of course not. Why would you?"

Another growl drifted in their direction, acting like a starting pistol as in a matter of seconds, all three Winchester siblings barreled into Lucas's house, almost knocking the poor kid off his feet in their haste to not become puppy chow. They slammed the door shut behind them, however before they could lock, latch or barricade it afterwards, the hound came crashing through it, sending wooden scraps flying in all directions and scattering across the floor.

"Upstairs, go, go." Selina said flusteredly, ushering the others towards the only direction they could go. Only, before she herself could begin to climb the staircase, the hound grabbed hold of her pant leg, making her glad they were rather baggy as its teeth had sunk right through the fabric and would have otherwise pierced through her skin.

In one swift motion it tugged her towards it, causing her to lose her balance and fall forwards, where she couldn't help but swear under her breath when her ribcage collided hard with the edge of the first step and sent a throbbing, dull pain shooting across her chest.

"Dean!" Selina called out, though barely as she'd had the wind knocked clean out of her and could hardly breath. She was able to see Dean turn around in front of her, but before he could try to pull her to safety the hound dragged her out of his reach and into the living room. 

"Call Crowley, now." Dean ordered Sam through gritted teeth, pulling out an extra angel blade along with the demon killing knife before he raced down the stairs and began to chase after Selina.

He soon found her in the dining room, lying on her back with her weapon out of her reach and the hound standing directly over her, one giant paw placed firmly on her rapidly moving chest in order to keep her still. Though, to his complete and utter surprise, instead of ripping Selina apart like had once been done to him, all the hound did was stare down at her, its head tilted in a way that you'd often see with a normal dog.

Or a certain trenchcoated angel.

Quietly, Dean edged his way towards them, his eyes narrowing when the hound leaned down and loudly began sniffing at the side of Selina's neck, where unknown to him, the necklace that Crowley had given her had slipped out from beneath her hoodie and was hanging loose just below her ear.

Selina slowly turned in his direction to escape the smell of hellhound breath, her fear-filled eyes locking with Dean's as he did nothing but watch out of pure astonishment. Her gaze then drifted towards her discarded angel blade and as subtly as she could, she nodded her head, as though urging Dean to kick it towards her before the hound had had its fill of playing with its food.

Selina didn't really want to kill the hound, especially if it belonged to Crowley, but she didn't see any other option. It was either it dies or she dies and even though she couldn't help but think a short visit to see Death would be a relief from the goings on inside her mind, she really didn't want Dean to have to see her ripped to shreds. She still hadn't recovered from seeing him, so chances are, he'd never recover from seeing her either.

And so she reached out her hand, feeling the cool metal of her angel blade that Dean had kicked brushing against her fingertips as she tried her hardest to grab hold of it. Luckily, the hound was still too interested in her neck to pay any attention to her hand, its surprisingly wet nose rubbing across the skin below her ear and making her shudder terribly.

The sniffing and lack of brutality weren't the only things that were strange about this moment in time either as at one point, Selina could have swornshe heard the hound's tail hit against the leg of the dining room table, as though it were excited and wagging it like your average golden retriever.

That's when it dawned on her.

Perhaps, by some strange miracle, all the time she had spent with Crowley had benefited her in more ways than one. That maybe, just maybe , the hound could smell traces of Crowley on her skin, confusing it enough to the point where it had no idea whether it should kill her or obey her. After all, it was currently sniffing the spot below her ear that Crowley favoured when it came to kissing her neck, so perhaps he'd left behind a whole lot more than a simple love bite.

"Okay Cujo," Selina whispered, sucking in a breath as she abandoned her blade and turned her head away from the confused Dean, who had now been joined by an equally confused Sam, and towards the hound. "Let's see if I'm right... Heel."

And just like that, the hound pulled away from her and to everyone's surprise, sat down.

"Whoa." Dean exhaled, his gaze flicking between the now relaxed hound and his sister, who was slowly shuffling back across the floor with one arm wrapped tightly around her chest. "How the hell did you do that?"

"I don't know," Selina breathed out in rather excruciating pain, accepting Sam's help in getting to her feet and wincing as she did — no doubt she had a cracked rib, as if she really needed that piled up on top of everything else she had going on right now.

"Would anyone care to explain what the bloody hell is going on?" came the sudden voice of Crowley, who was now standing in the space once occupied by Sam, his eyes narrowed as they darted almost frantically between his heart, and his hound.  

"You tell us," Dean replied rather bitterly, turning towards the demon and raising the tip of his knife to his chest. "Tell us why your hound is out here going after people who haven't sold their souls."

It was at that moment, as Crowley was rambling on about having no idea how any of this could have happened, that Selina began to feel a sharp, burning pain spike in her stomach — as though there was a tiny person inside of it, slicing away with the world's sharpest knife that also happened to be on fire.

At first she thought it was just a cramp, as it did have a similar feel to that which she'd get on her period. But given that it wasn't in her lower abdomen where her cramps usually were and the fact that the intense pain seemed to escalate into an almost unbearable stint of pure heat, she came to the quick conclusion that it definitely wasn't related to her period. Nor was it anything to do with her cracked rib.

"Sam," Selina spluttered, throwing out her hand to grab hold of Sam's arm, who had been in the middle of discussing how it was possible that Selina managed to order Crowley's hound to heel, before he turned to her. "Sam, something's wrong... Something's..."

Selina was abruptly cut off when a mouthful of blood came spewing out from between her teeth, dripping down her chin and staining the front of her favourite hoodie. Then, as if things weren't bad enough, her legs gave out from under her and she fell to her knees, barely able to feel the pain that shot up her thighs over the relentless stabbing in her stomach.

"Cas, we need you!" Dean called out, before swiftly joining Sam at Selina's side, leaving Crowley to stand alone, overwhelmed with worry as he did nothing but watch the sight of the only person he'd ever truly loved throw up mouthful after mouthful of her own blood.

He'd give anything, literally anything, to be able to by her side right now. To hold her, soothe her, do pretty much anything he could think of to make... whatever this was, that little bit easier for her. But due to present company and the strange fact that Selina was actively and purposely avoiding eye contact with him, he wasn't sure that would be the best move.

Especially for guaranteeing his own survival. Not that that even mattered to him anymore. He would give up his own life for Selina in a heartbeat if it meant not having to live without her, but still, he'd quite like to stick around, not only to figure out what the hell was going on, but to finally be able to tell Selina that he loved her.

Crowley wasn't fully ready to tell her just yet but he was getting there. It was becoming easier for him to understand his newfound feelings and so he was certain that with a little more time, it would be just as easy, if not more, to express them. And he'd really like to be around in order to do that, so for now, all he could do was watch and worry.

As a flutter of wings sent a light breeze drifting through the still air, Crowley quickly fell out of that worry-induced trance, only to find that Selina was now lying on her side, in a pool of her own blood with Sam quietly assuring her she was okay. Upon seeing that, Crowley was just about to give in, to reveal everything they'd been working hard to keep a secret in order to be by her side, but before he could do so much as move a single inch towards Selina, a blur of trench coat grabbed him by the collar, thrust him up against the wall and began to search his pockets.

That rendered Crowley utterly baffled if he was being honest. Selina was on the floor, choking on her own blood and mere minutes away from death yet the only person in the room who could potentially heal her was more interested in what he had in his pockets? Like okay Gollum, pretty sure you have your priorities mixed up there.

"Cas? What the hell are you doing? She's dying!" Sam exclaimed, his gaze frantically flicking between the pickpocketing angel and his sister, who was clinging to him for dear life as the last ounce of her own faded from within her. "Cas!"

Castiel said nothing though. Not even when he finally found what he was looking for in Crowley's coat pocket. He let go of the demon, allowing him to slouch irritably against the wall where he briefly straightened himself out, before Castiel turned towards the siblings and opened his palm, revealing the small bundle of fabric that was responsible for Selina's close call with death.

In the blink of an eye the hex bag went up in flames and just like that, Selina could breathe again — well, as much as she could given her cracked rib but hey, at least she wasn't throwing up blood anymore or experiencing the feeling of a thousand hot knives piercing through the lining of her stomach.

Throughout her life she'd been hit by plenty of hex bags but never one as powerful as that. And never one that had her genuinely fearing that this was the end. She'd truly thought she was dying, that her time on Earth had finally come to an end and yet despite her feelings about what happened earlier, all she could think about in her 'last moments' was Crowley.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked, still a little worried as the colour had yet to return to Selina's face.

"Define alright." Selina replied, clasping her hand with Sam's as he helped lift her to her feet, where he couldn't help but let out a relieved chuckle as that was exactly the kind of answer he'd expect to get from his sister, meaning that she was indeed, alright.

As she did her best to tidy herself up, ie, wiping the blood from around her mouth with her sleeve, Selina was stopped in her tracks when Dean stepped in front of her. She glanced up at him and the second she did, he put her face in both hands and began to tilt it slowly, as though he was trying to get a good look at her to make sure she was truly alright, and Selina knew better than to protest so she let him carry on.

Once he was completely satisfied with her well-being, Dean nodded his head once as a quiet 'hmfph' left his slightly parted lips. He then patted the side of Selina's head gently, before dropping his hands to his sides, spinning on his heels and punching Crowley square in the face.

Out of instinct Sam lurched forward, preparing himself to have to hold Dean back should he knife Crowley before they got answers as to why he tried to kill Selina. But to everyone's surprise, Crowley included, Dean settled on one punch only as part of him knew Selina would only try and get between them and he didn't want to risk her getting hurt more than she already had.

"You," Dean gritted, using his blade to point threateningly at Crowley. He even widened his eyes a little, glancing down at the pointed edge as though emphasising that Crowley would be meeting the end of it should he answer in a way that Dean didn't like, "start talking. Now."

"I have no idea where that hex bag came from," Crowley said adamantly, looking past Dean, who simply scoffed in disbelief, and instead focusing his attention directly on Selina, who was refusing to even glance in his direction and something told him she wasn't thinking about stepping between them any time soon. "Do you really think that if I wanted to kill her I would have needed one? Or that my hound would have stopped simply because she asked nicely?"

"So what? You're saying Cat was able to control your hound because you don't want her dead?" Sam asked, and he was having trouble even believing that he was because as far as he knew, hellhounds only ever obeyed their owners.

"I don't know how she managed to control it," Crowley replied, and still he was focused directly on Selina, wishing she'd look at him just so she could see he was telling the truth. "All I know is that had I been the one to send it after her, then she would be in pieces on the floor. And I certainlywouldn't have needed a hex bag to finish her off."

"Well if you didn't send the hound or make the hex bag then who the hell did?" Dean asked, or more so demanded.

"I don't know, but you best believe that I'll find out." Crowley said seriously, and Dean couldn't help but scoff in response.

"Right, because you're such a humanitarian these days." He muttered, rolling his eyes and missing the slight twitch of Crowley's jaw, as though he were about to open it in order to put Dean firmly in his place.

However, no matter how hard he had to bite his tongue, Crowley stayed quiet. He wanted to respond, lord knows he did, but he simply couldn't, not without exposing the truth about his relationship with Selina anyway and given what she'd just gone through, he didn't want to throw her in the deep end of having to explain that to her brothers.

"Selina, you trust me, don't you?" Crowley continued to stare straight past Dean and towards Selina, pleading internally that the promise he'd once made still meant something to her. And when she finally looked up, her eyes locking with his before drifting tiredly around the room, he felt a small spark of hope blossom in his chest that it did.

Patiently he waited for her to respond, watching as she took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair, pushing her hood down in the process and revealing the drastic change in her hair's length. Crowley didn't even think to mention it though, and instead simply widened his eyes in awe as to him, she could have shaved her head completely and she would still be the most beautiful woman on the planet.

"I," Selina began, taking a deep breath which thankfully only shuddered enough for her to pick up on. She wanted to say yes, to let Crowley know that she still trusted him with her life. But after what happened earlier, mixed with this whole ordeal, she just wasn't sure if that would be the truth. "I don't know anymore." 

And just like that, Crowley's entire being seemed to fall around him and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

"I think you hurt his feelings." Dean said humorously, unaware that he was completely true and that each passing second was literal agony for Selina — and it wasn't because of her cracked rib.

She truly hadn't intended to hurt Crowley's feelings, or do anything to potentially jeopardise their relationship when to her it was already so fragile. But she just couldn't bring herself to lie to him. She honestly didn't know if she could trust him, not after everything that had happened today — and in the space of a single hour, she might add.

The longest hour of her life, to be precise and truthfully, Selina didn't think it could get any worse than it already was. At least, not until Castiel dropped her back at the bunker, where upon entering her bedroom in hopes of some peace and quiet, she got the exact opposite when she found Crowley already in there, looking as though he hadn't done anything even remotely wrong. 

"Why don't you trust me anymore?" Crowley asked, his voice low and had Selina not been who she was to him, she never would have picked up on the sadness lingering deep beneath it — supposed sadness she should say, as from what she knew about him, Crowley could be rather good at acting whenever he chose to be. "You can't think that I had anything to do with what happened, can you?"

"I don't know, Crowley," Selina sighed, and she couldn't help but be harsh about it. "Maybe I wouldn't be having this problem if you weren't cheating on me."

"Cheating on you?" Crowley repeated, in genuine shock as he abruptly got to his feet, his brow dipped so deep it might as well have been a moustache. "You think I'm cheating on you?"

"Pretty hard not to," Selina spat, pulling out her phone and quickly bringing up their text thread from earlier. "Especially considering your little side piece enjoys texting me when your head's between her legs."

Tossing the phone at Crowley, and making him fumble to catch it as it bounced off his chest, Selina watched carefully as he read through each of the three messages, during which she tried her best to decipher anything in his eyes, on his face, and even in his posture that might suggest that he was openly lying to her. But like she said before, he was a good actor, therefore she couldn't be sure of anything she thought she saw.

"Well?" Selina asked, eventually breaking the tense silence as she was unable to take it anymore. Surely it shouldn't be taking this long to read a handful of words. "Do you have anything to say for yourself or do you need more time to get your story straight?"

"Lola." Crowley muttered, his eyes closing for a brief second, during which he missed the heartbreak flash over Selina's face as he pressed his lips together — he knew he shouldn't have left his phone sitting out when he wasn't able to keep an eye on her as after all, being a homewrecker was kind of Lola's thing.

"Lola?" Selina repeated, finding herself becoming a tad bit delirious when she couldn't help but let out an empty laugh. "You're cheating on me with a Lola?"

"I am not cheating on you with anybody." Crowley defended, deeply offended at the insinuation that he would even so much as look at another woman let alone sleep with one — especially one such as Lola. 

"Right," Selina scoffed, folding her arms over her chest as she shook her head, finding that the more this went on, the more trouble she was having believing him as the only thing he had to offer her was another woman's name. "Tell me, was she good for you? Did she satisfy your needs better than I do? Or did me almost ending up as your hounds chew toy interrupt you before you could get to that part?"

"Selina, please, must you be so difficult?" Crowley gritted, out of anger that she would even think that. He took a deep breath, his eyes drifting back towards her and it wasn't until he saw the way her face had dropped, and the partial tremble of her lip did he realise what he had said.

"Difficult? You think I'm difficult?" Selina questioned, her voice breaking just enough to make Crowley wish he'd never opened his big mouth in the first place. He went to step forward, to take her hand and apologise for this whole misunderstanding, though the second he went to move, Selina recoiled and shook her head. "You know what? If I'm so difficult for you to be around then maybe you should just go be with this Lola instead, because from where I'm standing, she seems real fucking easy."

"Selina, please," Crowley said, in desperation that she would just listen to him. He even tried to move towards her again, but she only backed up more to the point where she actually walked into the door. "If you would just give me a second to explain..."

"I don't want to hear it," Selina whispered, raising her hand to furiously wipe away the tears that had snuck out of her eyes. She turned her head, focusing her gaze on one random brick on her wall as she added, brokenly, "I just want you to go, okay? Don't talk. Just go... I need time to think."

"To think about what?" Crowley asked, his rapidly beating heart leaping into his throat as he dreaded her answer.

"About whether being..." Selina cut herself off, sucking in a shaky breath that she swallowed along with the lump in her throat. What she wanted to say was 'whether being in love with you is a good idea' but she just couldn't bring herself to confess her love out loud. Not like this. Not under these circumstances. So, after another deep breath, she closed her eyes and settled on, "About whether us being together is a good idea."

And when she opened her eyes, just seconds after the words settled in the air, Crowley was gone, leaving her to believe that maybe... the answer to her question was no.