"If we called, think you would have gotten here sooner?" She offers a faint smile in reply, and it comes out weary and lopsided. They can joke about it all they want, but she would have given almost anything to keep him here-- the life he had waiting for him elsewhere was no life at all, and it was getting harder and harder for her to figure out how to rebuild their relationship from the ground up. It seemed like each time he came back, she had worse news for him, even if it wasn't always bad by her own standards.

"I'm doing pretty well here," she concedes with a nod, and she knows he's trying to play things cool, but she can see that jumpiness lurking beneath it all, the part of him that wants to bolt the way he's always bolted when things got a little too real. That's the Dean Winchester she remembers from back home. The one she'd carried a torch for for years but who would always rather run away than give her a call. Maybe he'd been doing them both a favor, but distance never mattered much to her when it came to friends or family.

"Got more time here than I would have back home. There's something to be said for second chances. It was hard at first, I've done what I can to put a good spin on all this. I know this isn't exactly a five-star resort, but it's not terrible." She pauses, just for a beat. "Dean, a lot's changed."