Supernatural Fanfiction

Darkness Ch. 4

2006-05-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Alex sheathed her blades without cleaning the blood from them and walked up to the group on the ground with all the confidence of a panther in its natural habitat. Her every movement was fluid and graceful at the same time they were threatening and intimidating. In the months that she had survived on her own, killed things ten times stronger than herself, she had learned to become one with every muscle in her body. Her body was a tool that her mind used as a conduit for its power.

She stopped short of the brown haired man where he sat on the ground holding the girl she had rescued from the backseat in his arms. He set the girl down gently, though quickly, and stood up slowly to face her. Her eyes shifted wildly as her heart warred with her soul and tried to bring back the humanity that was lost on her. Her hand shot out and wrapped around his throat in a vise like grip no mortal could hope to break. For a moment she struggled with herself and nearly pulled her arm back but her demonic half won out and her grip remained around his throat, even though her arm was shaking from the internal war within.

“You have two seconds to give me a reason not to kill you,” she stated flatly. Her eyes became blacker than ever before and her arm ceased to shake.

Tristan watched her graceful movements. It hurt him to know that such grace came from such darkness. He set Emily down on the ground and stood back up. Almost faster than he could see he found her hand tightly gripped around his neck. Tristan looked down at her, locking eyes with her. He noted the shift in color and a small smile formed on his features. Tristan looked down at her and managed using his strength to pry himself from her grip. It was difficult though. She was stronger than he thought. "If you kill me Dean will die," he answered simply.

Alex snorted derisively, not deterred at all by the fact that he had just outmatched her strength. Her demonic half was raging inside her, begging for release, for more bloodshed. It filled her soul and threatened to consume her entire being. For a moment it raged so fiercely that her body burned, a feverish spike brought on by too much power in one body. She broke out into a sweat and her color paled severely. She stood strong as her nose began to bleed and her hands began to shake. Her fever soared higher, spiking more than a human body should be allowed to have without an ice bath, and her body struggled to remain on its feet. She felt like she was being torn apart on the inside as two halves of a soul battled each other viciously, the demon half trying to take complete control and the human half trying to regain a bit of ground. The power was too much, the blood too strong for a human body with no human soul to absorb it. She wasn’t a full-blooded demon and therefore without her human soul fully intact to steal some of her demonic half’s thunder than her body was going to die from the inside out. Only a full blooded demon could handle the power that went along with the title.

Alex felt as though someone were driving spikes into her head as her vision blurred and she involuntarily cried out from the pain. The sound was human, completely Alex, and as she had sudden flashbacks of who she really was her knees buckled.

Tristan watched for a moment. He would wait for the right moment to intervene. He looked over at Sarah then back at Alex. When he saw her begin to lose footing he stepped forward and caught her body as she fell. Tristan lowered her onto the ground slowly, holding her in his arms. He brushed her hair back and ran his hand along her cheek. Her fever was much higher than he anticipated. He hadn't meant to let it go so far. "Shh, Alex,” he whispered, knowing that there wasn't much left of her to hear him. Tristan closed his eyes and held her close, keeping one hand resting on her face. He felt his body chill, the cold flowing from his body to her own. This was harder than he thought. It would take more energy. Tristan looked down at her and waited. He was regenerating the bits of her broken soul to at least give her enough to fight with. Tristan used memories of her and Dean to piece back together the shattered pieces of her soul. At the same time he was mending her broken body as well. When he felt her temperature lower to that of a normal human temperature he released her and set her gently on the ground. He looked down at her and leaned over her waiting to see if she'd wake up. He worried what Sarah would think and hoped that Sarah would believe he was helping.

Sarah ran to her sister, tears in her eyes, and fell to her knees beside her. Her heart raged with pain, fearing that she was going to lose Alex all over again. She had seen this before. Alex had had many wars with her demonic half in which her body had become a victim, but her human soul had always won out and the symptoms had always receded. She met Tristan’s eyes over her sister’s body and wondered what he had done to save her. She knew that it had been him, from the moment that he had caught Alex and lowered her to the ground she knew that he had done something that had saved her life. Her eyes were questioning but grateful and her tears fell freely down her face to drop onto her sister’s chest.

Tristan looked up at Sarah. His breathing was labored and his skin much more pale than before. He locked eyes with her and after a moment he smiled. "She has strength like I've never seen Sarah," he said simply. He wasn't really referring to physical strength. After a moment Tristan leaned back and turned his attention back to Emily. She looked terrified. "It's all right now Emily. Everything's going to be all right."Alex stirred beneath Sarah’s hand and when she opened her eyes they were black again, but steady. Sarah blew out her breath; she had been hoping that Alex was back and would remember everything. It would seem that accomplishing that would be harder than she thought. Sarah felt her sister’s emotions through her touch and was shocked to realize that there were none. Alex was devoid of any emotion at all. Sarah moved away quickly, motioning Tristan away as well. She came to his side and pushed him away, gripping his arm in her hand and she was startled to realize that the interaction was more to steady herself than to move him. She was overwhelmed with the knowledge that there was so little left of her sister’s soul that it was almost completely demonic. She wanted to fall to her knees and cry until everything ended and she could wake up happy again. She found herself unconsciously gripping Tristan’s arm tighter before looking up to meet his eyes.

“I don’t know what you did,” she said quickly. “I’m not even going to ask. But you have to know that it will happen again. As long as the demonic side is stronger, it will happen again and next time she might not live.”

Tristan looked at Alex and his heart broke to see her. He tried so hard to save her but it hadn't worked. He took note of Sarah pulling at him and he turned to face her. Tristan wrapped his arms around her in a comforting way. "I'll do everything in my power to get her back Sarah," he whispered. "I promise. I will die before I let you lose another sister." Tristan knew what he was doing was wrong. It had been wrong since he picked Emily up on the side of the road. He wasn't supposed to intervene like this but he couldn't just sit back and watch them die. Emily meant too much to him.

Sarah pushed him back farther away from Alex as she rose to her feet, steady as a rock and just as solid, and lowered her voice so that only Tristan could hear. “I’m not going to pretend that I understand you. And we still have to talk later. But I know that you did something to save her life and for some reason I have this feeling that you’re the only one that can do it again. Alex might not mean that much to you, but she is all I have left. So I need to know . . . I need to know . . . ,” she hesitated, knowing that she was overstepping the bounds of some unseen rules with her question. “I need to know if you’ll do it again. I’m asking you, because for whatever reason I trust you, to stay close. I need to know that when this happens again you’ll be there to stop it.”

She looked into his eyes and glanced over her shoulder to where Alex was lifting Dean into her arms with care.

Tristan watched Alex's movements carefully but heard every word that Sarah said. He heard the pain and the plea in her voice. Then he looked over at her locking eyes with her. He couldn't say no. He knew he should, but he couldn't. How had he gotten so involved in this? Tristan averted his gaze for only a moment then looked back at her. "I promise Sarah," he said softly. "I need your help now though. You can't carry Sam, but I can. I was thinking maybe you could carry Emily. She's much lighter than any of them." Tristan turned to Emily. "Sarah's going to take care of you and I'll be with you the whole time." Then he looked back at Sarah. "Dean's lost a lot of blood, all of them have. They need to get to a hospital now."

Sarah nodded quickly, pulling herself from her own emotional trauma, and moved to Emily’s side. She stared into the younger girl’s eyes for several seconds, seeking to establish a bond of some kind of trust before she lifted her into her arms.
“It’s okay, Emily,” she told her. “I’ll make this painless I promise. I told you I’ll keep you safe and I mean it.”

Sarah focused her mental energy to Sarah’s pain and dulled it. She concentrated before she lifted and planted the emotion in Emily’s heart that she couldn’t feel the pain. She didn’t want her to feel her broken legs being moved around and she took all of her energy and put it into that one goal.

Emily watched the scene unfold before her. She stared at Tristan in amazement. There was something about him that was frightening but calming at the same time. Every time he looked at her all the bad things went away. She heard him speak of Sarah taking her and she nodded slowly. However, when Sarah moved closer she backed away. She looked at Sarah with terror in her eyes. She felt the girl pick her up and for a brief moment she felt the searing pain but it faded. She wrapped her arms around Sarah's neck the way she had with Tristan and rested her head on the girl's shoulder. Tristan looked over at them as he picked Sam up slowly. He looked down at John; he would have to come back for him. "Would you believe I don't have any transportation," he said with a laugh. Considering he was in the middle of nowhere on a highway without transportation, as if everything else didn't seem strange about him that just added to it.

When Sarah got Emily into her car safely and with no pain involved she turned and allowed Tristan to place Sam beside her. Dean and John went into Alex’s car and she turned the engine over to pull out onto the highway. Sarah followed her with Tristan in the front seat and together they roared down the highway to the nearest hospital.

Darkness Ch. 3

2006-05-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Emily watched the two with fear and fascination. Her focus was mostly on Alex. When Alex said they were coming to finish the job Emily let out an involuntary whimper. She looked up at Alex with tears in her eyes. Emily watched Alex take out two matching blades. She was going to fight them off, Emily could tell. She wouldn't let her, not alone. Dean took care of her, he always took care of her and she was supposed to take care of him now. She said it was her turn. Emily moved to try and stand but her legs wouldn't budge. She let out a loud cry but stifled it quickly then looked up at Alex once more. She wanted to help, more than anything she wanted to help but she couldn't move. Emily felt so helpless. All she could do was let Alex handle it.

For all the amount that Emily didn't trust Alex, she had seen the look of love in the girl's eyes when she looked at Dean. She cared deeply for Dean and Emily could tell. Though Emily had no comprehension of what real love was. All she had for that was Dean and he was on the ground, dead to Emily's knowledge. Love was not something Emily wanted anything to do with at the moment. Her father always told her he loved her. It was all a lie. Emily loved Dean and he left her, he died. She looked up at Alex once more. Love was what fueled her, made her stronger. Emily knew there was something inside the girl, something not quite human. There was no other way she could have ripped the doors from the car or picked Dean up the way she did. There was a strength inside her that was brought forth by something, almost demonic. At the same time though Emily could almost feel that it was fueled by love. What kind of love could give strength like that?

Alex came forward with her blades as one of the demons tried to rush past her to get at its prone targets. She held out the blade and spun as he passed, burying it to the hilt in the back of his neck. The demon stopped and began jerking and convulsing as she twisted the blade. From the other side Sarah could see the tip of the blade protruding from the demon’s throat. Alex jerked the blade out and kicked the body to the ground as she turned to meet the rush of a second demon.

He barreled into her and successfully knocked her to the ground. She went down with the demon on top of her and managed to get her foot up and onto his chest before her back met the dirt. She brought her blades in a crisscrossing X at the demon’s throat and quickly pulled them apart. The head severed, showering her with a spray of blood, and she kicked out sending the demon flying back fifty feet to slam into the front of the semi truck.

As Alex stood from the ground a dark haired young man bolted past her at a speed that Alex couldn’t possibly attempt to catch. She turned and watched him run toward Dean and the others but something in her gut instructed her to leave him be for now. She would challenge his arrival later.

Alex wiped off some of the blood and managed only to smear it further. She shrugged and walked forward with her already bloodstained blades at the ready in her hands.
Emily stared at Alex with fear in her eyes. She was terrified of this unstoppable force, but at the same time there was something comforting about it. She was protecting them. Emily wondered who this girl was, what her connection with Dean was. How did she know them? Dean never mentioned her. Though there was a lot about the eldest Winchester's life that he had never mentioned. Emily never claimed to know Dean very well, but he protected her. He was the first person in her life that loved her. He was her safety and now, when it mattered most she couldn't help him, but this strange girl could.

There was something dark about the girl that frightened Emily. She looked back and forth between Alex and her opponents watching them each meet their demise at the end of her blades. Suddenly she noticed someone run to her side. She turned quickly, causing a searing pain to shoot through her right leg and the rest of her body. What she saw in front of her made her heart skip a beat. "T... Tri... Tristan," she whispered with tears in her eyes.

The young man smiled and wiped away her tears with his thumb. He tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. "Shhh," he whispered. It was the same comforting tone that Dean used with her back in Salvation. "Its all right now," he whispered resting his forehead against hers.

Sarah turned her attention from Sam to the newcomer kneeling beside the girl with the broken legs. Her heart skipped a beat and she feared she had a let a demon slip past unnoticed. She remembered her promise to keep the girl safe now and she stood up quickly. She put her hands to her temples, focusing her power at the young man. Tristan glanced up at the younger woman. He found himself being compelled to his feet. Tristan stood and stared at her for a moment. He looked down at Emily then back at Sarah. "I'm trying to help," he called to her and glanced down at Emily. His heart ached to see her like this. He knew it shouldn't but it did. "Please, I'm trying to help," he said in an unnaturally calm voice.Sarah held fast to her psychic power, pinning him into place so that his feet were weighted down to the earth. He made no move to attempt to come toward her but she kept her power focused on him all the same. She stepped nearer while she did so and began scanning the surface of his emotions like a radar detector. She probed deeper, seeking out anything that would make him a threat. She found nothing and when she scanned him she was startled to feel a deep feeling of peace. She looked closer and saw the tiniest pinpricks of white light surrounding the inside of his being, as though he were a candle in the night. Her eyebrows furrowed in mild confusion. “Who the hell are you?” she demanded.

Tristan stood in place and watched Sarah inch closer. He kept glancing down at Emily and he smiled at her to let her know he was fine. He knew what the girl was doing and didn't want to seem to be a threat. The last thing he wanted was for her to send him flying because she thought he was a threat to Sam and Dean. She spoke again and he couldn't help but smile. There was power in her voice, a sense of command. It amused him. "My name is Tristan," he said simply. "I know Emily. Please, Sarah," he paused and locked eyes with her. She had seen into his heart, at least had a glimpse at the truth. "I am trying to help. They need to get out of here; it is too dangerous for them."

Sarah hesitated slightly. “I know that. What the hell do you think we’re trying to do? The bigger question is what are you doing here in the middle of the night on a deserted highway?”

Tristan turned his attention to Sarah when she spoke. "That's much more complicated than I would care to explain Miss Delaney," Tristan asked. His voice showed that he was in no mood for an argument. "These boys need help now and if you don't let me go then they will die. Please, I am trying to help them." Tristan met the girl's eyes once more and studied her. "Please, trust me for now and I will tell you everything at a better time. Just trust my judgment." His voice was unusually calm and rather soothing. Tristan spoke with an unsettlingly calm voice and the only emotion in his eyes came when he looked at Emily.

Sarah searched him harder for a moment, seeking anything that would deny his claims and again came up empty. She released her hold instantly and stared hard at him.
“You and me,” she said firmly, “we’re going to have a talk later. Count on that.” Under her breath she muttered, “Mr. Show’s Up In The Middle Of The Freaking Night. You glow like a damn candlestick!”

"Tristan," he said as he dropped to his knees beside Emily. Sarah looked at him, startled, as she realized that he had heard her and was correcting her informal name for him. She had to stop herself from wondering how in the hell he had managed to hear her comment. He smiled and picked Emily up in his arms, holding her tight. "Shh," he whispered to the trembling girl as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Tristan chuckled at her comment and looked down at Emily. "Thank you for trusting me Sarah." He wondered when she would notice that he knew her name. She probably had since she knew he had knowledge of her capabilities.

Sarah turned her attention to the girl that Tristan called Emily. She appeared badly frightened and her entire body shook from fear and pain. Sarah’s heart broke for the girl and all she wanted to do was run to her and take her in her arms and tell her that the world really wasn’t so bad. She suppressed the urge and watched the loving way that Tristan handled her. The comfort and compassion that he imparted with just a mere touch and soft spoken word. Her eyebrow rose slightly and she felt herself even more at ease with him. She no longer thought he posed any threat at all to them but she knew that there was something supernatural about him, albeit in a good way. Her heart told him that he was on their side, for better or worse, and she needed to trust him implicitly.

Tristan smiled at her and looked down at the bodies that surrounded him. He looked back up at Emily and smiled. "Shhh," he whispered once more. Tristan stroked her hair gently and looked up at Alex in her fight. A small smile formed on his lips and he looked down at Dean, then back at Alex. She was better than he thought she'd be. He could feel the demon inside her, but still her heart prevailed. That was amazing to Tristan. He had never seen a human so strong in the presence of a demon.
Alex ducked a punch that the third demon sent at her and she remained low to the ground in a perfectly balanced crouch. She kicked out with her right leg and hooked it around his knee. He was a skilled fighter though and instead of falling to the ground he jumped over her extended foot to safety. She came back up on her feet in an instant and circled him warily, searching for an opening in his defenses. He came at her with a fierce three punch combination and she blocked all of them before having to drop one of her blades to catch the extended foot that came kicking out at her face. The demon jerked his foot from her grasp and dodged backward out of her reach.

“Enough games,” she snarled.

Alex launched her body into a cartwheel, her legs flying in an arc through the air although her hands never touched the ground. When she landed she was positioned behind and slightly to the right of the demon. He came at her quickly, spinning on his heels and she dodged behind him. She grabbed his neck in the crook of her arm and jerked. His neck snapped audibly and Alex swore she could hear the bones snapping all the way down his back in the near-still night. She caught Sarah’s eye as the younger woman turned at the gruesome sound. Alex shrugged and dropped the body to the ground without a second thought.

Tristan's head turned quickly at the sound of breaking bones. He stared at the girl in amazement. She would need more help than he originally thought. Tristan glanced down at Dean's all but lifeless body. He would be strong enough to give her the help she needed. Then Tristan looked down at Emily. She stared at Alex in terror and tears streamed down her face. "Shh," he whispered looking down at Emily as she turned to meet his eyes. "Don't worry. She's on our side."

Alex turned and spotted the demonically possessed truck driver running off into the night, most likely to the safety of whoever his benefactor was. She considered giving chase and putting him out of his misery but something in her heart stopped her. He was a human, trapped in his own body. She couldn’t kill a human being. She stopped suddenly, standing as if frozen to the ground beneath her feet. All she heard was her own heart beating quietly in her ears. But she had killed . . .those months where her own identity was a mystery to her she had killed plenty. Demons and humans alike. Anything that had stood in her way she had taken out of existence. She stared at her hands and swore that they were stained with more blood than she actually had on them. Her heart trip hammered and for a moment she felt like she was going to be sick. A single tear found its way down her face and she swiped at the foreign object, not understanding the cause of it. Her heart hardened again and the memory of the innocent lives she had taken faded back into the recesses of her mind.
Alex turned around and faced the group of people she had pulled from the broken Impala. In their midst was the brown haired young man that had escaped past her earlier. She started forward toward the group, where the woman that called herself her sister seemed to be having a confrontation with him. He wasn’t going to escape a second time.

Darkness Ch. 2

2006-05-14T02:52:00.000-07:00

Sarah stumbled back as Alex pushed past her and over to the car. Sarah could see the slumped over form of the semi truck driver against his steering wheel but another gut instinct told her that she shouldn’t go near him. Instead she hesitantly followed Alex and stood back as her sister came within inches of the totaled car. She halfway wondered what Alex was going to do and even more wondered what she was doing there at all.

Alex came up to Dean’s window and reared her fist back before punching out. The glass shattered around her hand and she reached inside to gently push Dean’s body away from the door. Her vision caught hold of the two men in the front seat and a flood of images assaulted her mind. Both of them were familiar to her and her memory told her that she knew them. Her mind told her that she had laughed with them once, fought beside them, cared for them and loved them. She felt as if she were looking into a distant life that she no longer lived and she couldn’t quite fit all the pieces of it together. Even so her heart told her that they must be rescued as well. They could hold the key to her past that she had been seeking for the last few months.

Alex felt her eyes shift rapidly, sliding from brilliant blue to black and back again. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, growling under her breath. When they were blue she knew that her eyes were generous, loving, and open. When they were black she knew that they were as cold and lifeless as the bottom of the ocean. When her emotions and memories became confused her eyes shifted and she felt feelings inside her dead heart that she didn’t know existed. At this very moment she felt love, deep and passionate, when she stared at the man in the backseat that had been haunting her dreams and memories.

Alex looked past him suddenly to a shift of movement in the backseat. A small girl huddled there and the moment their eyes met the girl shrank back as far as she could go. Alex took in her disheveled and fragile appearance. She studied the overly large white sundress that hung off the girl’s right shoulder and the cut that decorated it, presumably from the car crash. Her face dripped blood from a small laceration on her forehead and her brown eyes stared at Alex with fear and tears mixed in them. Alex stared hard at the girl and recognized pain across her features. The girl tried to squirm away but Alex realized quickly that she couldn’t.

She didn’t recognize the small fragile creature in the backseat and her face elicited no memories. All the same there was something in her eyes, the pain that was evident there, the innocence that seemed to permeate everything about her, that made Alex’s heart twist. Her eyes shifted again, maintaining their crystal blue color for several seconds before shifting back.

“Hold on,” she said sharply. “I’ll get you out.”

She grabbed onto door that the now shattered window provided access to and ignored the shards of glass that sliced into her palm. The cuts on the top of her hand sewed themselves shut quickly and disappeared with no trace that they had ever been there. She jerked with all her strength and the door groaned in protest but came off the car. She picked up the door and tossed it away behind her and into the night. Alex repeated the process with the driver’s side door and blood ran freely from her hands and down her arms.

“Alex,” Sarah called. “Be careful. We don’t know how badly hurt they are.”
Alex snarled under her breath and gently placed her hand under Dean’s neck and the other around his legs. She lifted carefully and brought his six foot frame to rest again her own more slender body. From the backseat the girl reached out for him. She tried to move across the car but couldn't. With every movement of her legs pain shot through her tiny body. She turned and walked a short distance away to place him gently on the ground.

Sarah dashed to the driver’s side and stared into the backseat at a brown haired, doe eyed girl that she didn’t recognize. She smiled gently, seeing the pain evident on her features.

“It’s okay honey,” she said quietly. “My name is Sarah. We’ll get you out, I promise. You’ll be okay. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything else happen to you.”
Emily's head turned quickly when she heard another voice. She stared at Sarah with slightly less fear. There was something about this girl that was less threatening. She began pulling Sam out with caution as Alex returned to the backseat to extract the terribly frightened girl. Emily remained silent. It wasn't until Alex appeared next to her in the car that she finally spoke. Emily looked back and forth between Alex and Sarah, but it was obvious she spoke to Alex. "D... De... Dean," she whispered. Her voice was soft and hoarse, much like the first time she spoke to Dean. There was a childlike quality to her voice that seemed to make it echo in the silent remains of the Impala.Alex hesitated at the edge of the car, her head stuck in the door and her braid falling down over her shoulder. She met the girl’s eyes and for a moment she became lost in them. Her eyes shifted wildly as memories of love and laughter flooded her being. She reached out a hand and gently touched the girl’s arm. She came further into the car and grabbed hold of her upper body.

As the girl leaned closer Emily did her best to back away. She was trembling uncontrollably. With each subtle movement Emily felt a fiery pain shoot through her body.

“I’m sorry but this is going to hurt no matter which way I do it,” Alex warned her.
Alex pulled back, taking care to keep her legs as straight as humanly possible, until the girl’s body was in a better position to be picked up. Alex eased her arm under the broken legs and tightened her grip to allow minimal movement. She didn’t want to cause the girl anymore pain than she was already in.

“You really might want to hold your breath,” Alex advised her. “I’m going to have to carry you over to Dean and your legs are broken so it’s going to hurt.”

Every movement was painful for Emily. She was a strong girl though and she bit her lip and shut her eyes as tight as she could. She took sharp breaths every once in a while when the pain was too great but she wouldn't cry out or scream. She didn't know who this woman was, or what she was for that matter, but at the moment she trusted her, or at least trusted her to enough to let the woman, Alex, take her out of the car.

She lifted gently and brought the girl’s tiny frame to rest against her own. She was light as a feather, easily carried, and Alex strode across the grass to where she had laid Dean. His face was pale in the moonlight and the blood was beginning to dry across his handsome features. She felt a lurch in her stomach and the remnant of a love so deep in her heart that she took a gunshot for him. Her mind spun. She heard the sound of a gun firing echoing in her head and saw herself jump in front of Dean to take the bullet. The memory receded and she was left with confusion.

Alex reached the place where she had laid Dean and set the girl down carefully next to him. Emily moved towards Dean, almost shielding his body from the woman. It had been dark in the car and she hadn't gotten to see Dean clearly. Now, with the light from the cars, Emily was finally able to see the damage. She stared down at Dean with the most horrified expression. Her heart ached as she saw him. All Emily could think of was that he was dead and she was left all alone. Emily leaned down and ran her hand across his face. "Don't go," she whispered to him. Then she looked up quickly when she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. Sarah came up then, dragging Sam’s body as she wasn’t strong enough to carry it. Alex ignored Sarah and returned to the car to retrieve John Winchester. When she returned with him over her shoulder she eased him down onto the ground next to his sons and surveyed the land around them. The highway was empty of any help.

“Alex,” Sarah whispered.

Alex turned her head to regard the younger woman and followed her finger to where it lay pointing over a hill. Alex made out three figures coming toward them at a steady pace. Inside the semi truck the driver was starting to get out and Alex knew immediately that they were all demons.

“They’re coming to finish the job,” Alex stated.

“We can’t let them!” Sarah cried, falling to her knees beside Sam.

Alex popped the sore muscles in her neck and let her eyes fall on each of the car crash victims. She returned her steady gaze to the approaching figures.

“Stay with them,” she commanded and she left no room for argument with her tone. She reached down to her boots and slid out two wickedly curved and serrated blades, gleaming silver in the moonlight, and perfectly matched. She flipped them around deftly in her hands until the blades were resting against her forearms and the hilts in her palms. “I’ll take care of the problem.”

Darkness Ch. 1

2006-05-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

Darkness is the sequel to Wild Angel, it is a collaboartion with Angie (Roguefire28 from JAF Forum)... it combines her stories (Frozen, Heat, and Intensity) with Wild Angel and takes place where Wild Angel left off... enjoy.

Sarah’s 2003 flame red firebird roared down the empty highway at a speed that threatened to break the sound barrier. She cared little for highway patrols; if they attempted to pull her over she wouldn’t hesitate to start a high speed chase that would make the news. Sarah had taken her car to a specialist in the underground market and had her engine worked on, the governor removed, and every other trick in the book that made her car as fast and aerodynamic as possible. Already she was reaching 150 mph and climbing.

Three months ago she had retreated to her family’s log cabin in the mountains to get away from the world in which she lived. Her sister had died at the hands of a demon, just like all the rest of her family, and in order to deal she had to run away. She had spent the months alone, living out her life in solitude and contemplating her life decisions. At long last she had come to terms with what had happened. Sam had proposed to her, her sister had died, and the boys had gone off on another hunt after the demon that killed their mother. The last phone call she had received from Sam had been three days ago and she hadn’t heard a word since.

Then the vision had come. She had seen a semi-truck smash into the passenger side of the Impala in the middle of the night. Following the road signs she had seen in her vision she had immediately left to find the highway that would potentially take her lover’s life. She had already lost everything in the world that had meant anything to her and she wasn’t going to lose her fiancé. She floored the gas all the way down to the floorboard and thought back on Alex.

Two months ago the doctor from the hospital that had proclaimed Alex dead had called to say that her body had never been recovered. The doctor had reason to believe that she had accidentally been cremated due to a slip up in the computer records. Sarah had resigned herself to the fact that she would never be able to bury Alex next to the rest of her family and had instead just had a tombstone placed in the family plot bearing her name and an epitaph that read “An angel among demons and a hero among men”.

Sarah struggled with the pain that still resided in her heart and drove onward before spotting a set of headlights shining into the road in the distance. They were stationary and Sarah began to slow the car down to a more acceptable stopping speed. Her breath caught in her throat as she came upon the scene her vision had forewarned her about. She slammed her foot down on the brake and the car reacted by swinging around to face the accident scene, her headlights illuminating what enfolded before her. She jumped out of the car as a second set of headlights appeared coming over the hill at a break neck speed as well. Sarah turned her attention back to the Impala and its four passengers. The semi truck’s front end was lodged into the passenger side of the Impala and there was no hope of getting it out herself. Smoke plumed from the engine into the night sky and the radio in the semi truck blared loudly a horrendously happy song. Sarah made out Dean’s face pressed against the glass and saw the blood that stained the window where his head touched. Sam was unconscious in the driver’s seat and his father next to him, both bloodied and cut from the accident.

Sarah turned sharply as an engine louder than her own roared to a stop and a figure stepped out of a black with white racing stripes 2003 Mustang SS. The glare of all of the headlights prevented her from making out the driver but whoever it was walked with confidence as they approached Sarah.

Sarah’s breath caught sharply and for a moment she forgot to breathe as the figure was revealed. “Alex?” she whispered.

Her sister was among the living for whatever reasons that Sarah didn’t even begin to guess at. Alex was dressed from head to toe in black leather and her boots sported three inch heels that made her look taller and more imposing. There was a new scar that cut through the middle of her left eyebrow and her eyes were the customary onyx black that signified her demonic half was in charge. The scar from the gunshot wound was faint but noticeable on her abdomen where the flesh was revealed by the corset-like black leather top she was wearing. On her hands were bicycling gloves, the kind that were cut off at the fingers, and her hair was braided back away from her face with black and red leather strips braided through the hair.

Emily slowly began to hear the muffled sound of a car radio. The sounds came back into focus. The young girl tried to move but found it too difficult. Her head throbbed and she couldn't move her legs. It took a while but with enough effort Emily managed to open her eyes. She turned her head to the side and saw Dean on the seat next to her. His body was beaten and bloody. It tore her heart apart to see him like that. Dean was a fighter and now Emily saw him and he was broken. She forced herself to sit up slowly, looking at the sight around her. Emily was still unable to move her legs. She looked over and saw John in the seat in front of her, his head against the window and Sam next to him. She had blood along her face from the small cut on her forehead.

Emily looked down at Dean once more then she noticed a light out the window. She managed to make out two figures, women. Emily watched them in silence, afraid to move. She looked in the one woman's eyes and was terrified to find them dark and cold, as the demon that might have taken her family away from her again. There was something different though. It wasn't much; just enough to not scare her the way the demon that inhabited John scared her. She didn't have that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Still this girl seemed dark, cold. She watched the two for a moment. Emily sat against the remains of the backseat. She wished she could sit in her safe position, hugging her knees to her chest but she couldn't move her legs. Emily looked down at the floor and saw blood flowing down her legs. They were most likely broken.

She looked up quickly when she saw one woman point in her direction. Her heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat. She wondered if they saw her. What would they do if they did? There wasn't much Emily could do. She was too weak to do anything with her mind and she couldn't move. Emily was trapped in the car unable to get away. She wasn't worried about her safety though as she looked at the woman with onyx colored eyes. She was more worried about Dean's safety. She looked down at his lifeless form then back up at the women.

“It can’t be . . .,” Sarah stammered, for a moment completely forgetting the car crash. “You’re dead!”

Alex looked in her direction sharply and all Sarah saw there was the anger and darkness of a full-blooded demon. Sarah took a step backward, away from her volatile and powerful sister. Alex cocked her head and stared hard at Sarah for a moment, as if struggling with something inside herself that Sarah couldn’t see. Sarah wanted to run to her and hug her but something held her back. An instinctive feeling that while her older sister was miraculously alive there was something very wrong.
“Who the hell are you?” Alex demanded.
Sarah was stunned. It was worse than she thought. Alex didn’t remember anything from before the gunshot wound and it would seem that she was no longer even remotely human.

“I’m . . . .I’m your sister,” Sarah stammered.

“I’m not here for you,” Alex told her sharply. She pointed at the smoking Impala and Sarah belatedly realized how much precious time she had wasted. “I’m here for him.”
Sarah followed her finger to where it lay pointing at Dean.

Wild Angel Ch. 6

2006-05-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

She didn’t bother to get a hotel room. She hoped she wouldn’t need one. The boys would have one and she would stay with them. Emily took a moment standing in the parking lot to try and understand what happened. He kissed her, it wasn’t much but still no one had done that before. Emily ran her fingertips over her cheek where his lips had been. She closed her eyes and a small smile formed on her lips. She looked down at the paper in her hand that contained his cell phone number. Emily smiled and put it in her bag next to the picture of Sam and Dean with their dad. When they were done she would make sure she called him. When she found Sam and Dean and everything calmed down.

Emily sighed and looked around. She threw her backpack over her shoulder and took a deep breath. The sun was setting and Emily started down the street hoping to at least find their car. She searched for hours up and down every street she could find. What she didn’t know was that she kept missing them just by a few minutes. Emily stopped at a small diner and got something to eat. She had taken so of Jim’s money, he wasn’t going to need it. She took a few moments to calm down. She was worried, what if they moved on? Did they know about Jim? Was Dean even worried about her? She took her cell phone out and hovered over Dean’s number. She called and again there was no answer. Emily sighed and shook her head. She paid for her meal and left the diner. It was late by then but she didn’t have anywhere to stay. She turned down a road that she knew she had been on before. Emily had given up on her search to find them when she heard a familiar voice down the street.

Emily looked up and saw a black car parked on one side of the street. On the other side she saw Sam and Dean run into a house. Emily’s heart stopped for a moment. She felt the worst sensation in the pit of her stomach. It reminded her of when that woman showed up at the church only much, much worse. Emily did her best to run towards the house. She stopped just outside when she heard a gunshot. Emily looked up towards one of the rooms and just as she looked up it caught fire. She screamed and took a step back just as two people, a man and a woman, ran out of the house. Following behind them was Sam and Dean behind him. He was holding a baby. Dean handed the baby to the woman. He didn’t even seem to notice that Emily was standing there.

Emily, like Sam stood staring through the window of the burning room. Dean still hadn’t seemed to notice that Emily was there. She vaguely heard Sam say something and out of the corner of her eye she saw him move towards the house. Dean stopped him, he said something but Emily couldn’t really hear it. She looked through the window and saw a figure of a man. She knew what it was, who it was. It wasn’t until Dean pulled Sam back and he ran into her that Emily looked at them. It wasn’t until that moment that Dean knew she was there. “Emily,” he said staring at her.

Sam turned when he heard her name and looked down at her. They both seemed surprised she was there. “You’re… you’re alive,” Sam said softly.

Dean stood there silent for a long time. Emily looked at him and she thought she could see tears in his eyes. After a long pause she finally felt what she had been searching for. Dean stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. Emily finally had a chance to let it all out. She buried her head in Dean’s chest and Dean could feel her body trembling in his arms. “Shh,” he whispered to her, stroking her hair gently. Dean understood what was wrong. Though he never said it part of him hoped she died to. If she were dead she wouldn’t have to live with what Dean knew she had seen.

They took her back to the hotel. The ride was a long and silent one. Sam was upset, Emily could tell but she couldn’t figure out why. Emily knew that thing took their mother from them but like her, Sam had been an infant. She didn’t understand why he seemed so much more upset than Dean. Of course, Emily had no knowledge of Jessica. Even if she knew about Jessica she couldn’t comprehend the relationship, the deep feelings that Sam had for her. It was beyond Emily.

They got back to the hotel and Dean sat down with Emily on one bed and Sam on the other. Emily kept looking over at Sam while Dean spoke. “Emily,” he whispered. Finally he turned her head to face him. “Are you all right,” he asked softly. “How did you get here?” Dean sighed and looked down at his cell phone. He noticed he had several missed calls, all from Emily. Dean sighed once more. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. Then Dean stood and tried to call their dad again. Still there was no answer. Emily curled up and rested her head on the pillow. It was nice to hear their voices again, even if they were upset. She vaguely listened to what Sam and Dean were saying. Why was Sam so angry? Then Dean said something about Jessica. Emily sat up just as Sam slammed Dean against the wall. Emily immediately went into her normal, frightened position of hugging her knees to her chest and burying her head in her arms. Who was Jessica? Sam spoke and it broke Emily’s heart. There was so much pain in his voice. So much hurt. Emily couldn’t understand it but she could hear it and it killed her to hear Sam like that. What hurt worse though was what Dean said. Emily knew he meant his family but his words still hurt her. “The three of us, that’s all we have. That’s all I have.” Why wasn’t Emily included? Who did she have if not at least Dean? His voice broke through her and she found tears rolling down her face. Sam backed away from Dean and Dean looked over at her. He saw her tears and walked over to sit next to her. “Shhh,” he whispered again wiping away the girl’s crystal tears. Dean sighed and stood, picking up the phone and calling their father once more.

Emily sat straight when she saw the look in Dean’s eyes. He hung up the phone and said they had his father. Who were “they”? Dean had never taken the time to explain why him and his brother do what they do so Emily was confused and frightened. Sam and Dean argued about whether or not they should go. In the middle of it Emily stood. “Why,” she said quietly. “Where? Who… what’s… what’s going on,” she asked quietly. She was frustrated and now that she was more articulate than the last time she saw the Winchesters.

Dean looked over at Emily. He was surprised that she spoke. She rarely spoke last time they met. Dean was caught off guard. He paused and looked down. “It’s complicated,” Dean said softly. “I’ll tell you in the car,” he said quickly as he finished packing up the car. Dean spent the entire ride to Lincoln explaining the last twenty plus years of their lives. Emily sat in the back seat of his car half listening. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. The ride was long and rather unproductive. They still didn’t find their father. Dean decided it would be best to stop by an old friend of their father’s. His name was Bobby. Emily followed them into the house. They passed by a black dog sitting on the hood of a blue pick-up truck. The dog barked at her and she jumped, clinging to Dean. Dean simply looked down at her and laughed. “Its ok,” he said with a smile. They walked into the house and Emily took a seat in the corner behind some books. She didn’t really listen to much of what they were talking about. In her mind it didn’t involve her.

At least she thought that till she realized that Bobby had turned to look at her. “This includes you little lady,” he said simply. Emily sat there hugging her knees to her chest and stared at him. “You’re in this storm with those boys. You better take good care of them.”

“Ye… yes… yes sir,” she said softly. There was something amusing in her voice as it caused Bobby to start laughing. Emily looked at Dean and he just smiled. She didn’t understand what was so funny. Emily looked up when she heard a dog yelp and then there was silence. Bobby looked out the window. Seconds later the door burst open and a woman walked inside. Emily stood quickly and stared at the woman. It was the same she had seen kill Jim. Emily moved to go after her and Dean held her back. She glared at the woman and Dean moved in front of Emily. He made a move towards the woman and she threw him back, knocking Emily over as well. Emily hit her head on a desk and her world went black. She woke a few minutes later, her head on a small pillow. She sat up and saw the woman tied in a chair. Emily took a spot on top of a bookcase and sat there watching. She liked spots like that, small places she could curl up in.

She was excited for a moment, and then she heard Dean speak. She saw Dean backhand the woman. Emily vaguely heard Bobby mention that she was possessed. Emily glared down at the girl and she looked up at her. “Name’s Meg,” she said with a smile. “I remember you. You were that tiny little girl hiding in the church.” So she had seen Emily. Why hadn’t she killed her? “Did you enjoy the show?” Emily tried her best to stay put and not react to Meg’s words. It was hard though. Emily had only felt anger like this once in her life and that was in her basement with her father. Dean had been there to save her from losing herself in her anger. Dean walked back to them and Sam started reading something. She watched Meg writhe in pain. To her terror, Emily got some enjoyment out of it. Dean’s voice terrified her though. He was so angry. There was a darkness coming from him that made him no seem like Dean. He wanted to know where their father was, Emily understood that, but there was a line that had been drawn and Dean passed it long ago. Finally he got his answer. Dean told Sam to finish it. Emily knew that would kill Meg. Somewhere inside her she knew that Meg was just a frightened girl like herself. She could hear it, feel it, and see it. Emily jumped down from her perched position on a bookcase and stood in front of Dean. She looked up into his eyes trying to find the comforting Dean she once knew.

“Sammy, finish it,” he said looking down at her and not Sam. Emily looked almost devastated by his words. She looked back at Sam and saw fear in his eyes. Emily bit her lip and looked down she closed her eyes and heard Sam finish what he was reading. Emily watched the demon leave Meg and her entire body go limp. Emily backed against the wall as Meg slowly raised her head. She was alive. Emily was amazed. There was strength in the girl that made Emily smile. She watched as Sam and Dean carefully lifted her out of the chair and set her down on the ground with a pillow under her head. Emily looked down at the girl. Meg looked up at her.

She said she had been that way for a year, awake for some of it. Emily watched and the girl locked eyes with her. “I am so… so…s… so sorry,” Meg struggled to say. Emily simply smiled. It was a comforting smile, letting Meg know it was all right. Meg told them that the demon wasn’t lying and where they could find their father. Then she took her last breath. Emily watched with some kind of childlike fascination. Dean stood and took Emily away so she wouldn’t look at the body.

Emily looked up at Dean. She saw pain, remorse in his eyes. It was the same look he had when he killed her father. Emily didn’t know what to say. She wanted to comfort Dean as he had done so much for her but she couldn’t think of how. Dean walked away from her and they gathered their things and left.

As Emily was walking out she glanced back at Meg’s body and Bobby took her arm. “You take care of those boys all right,” he said with a smile. Emily nodded and walked out the door following Sam and Dean. She sat in the car and the ride to Jefferson City was silent. Emily stared out the window. After a while she looked down at the piece of paper she held that had Tristan’s phone number on it. She smiled as she thought about him. His eyes, the softest kindest eyes she had ever seen. Emily bit her lip and stared out the window. Dean looked through the mirror and laughed when he saw her. He had seen that look before, but he wouldn’t bring it up.

It wasn’t as long of a ride as she thought it would be from Lincoln to Jefferson City. She got out of the car with the boys and stood leaning against the car as Sam read the book Bobby had given him. Dean rummaged through the trunk. Emily stared out at the bridge in the distance that went across the Missouri river. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. She heard Sam and Dean start fighting again. Emily rolled her eyes and sighed. She turned to face him as Dean tossed the Colt in the trunk and closed the lid. “Stop it,” she snapped at them. “Both of you. That’s all I’ve heard since I found you.” Her voice was strong, commanding. Dean couldn’t help but think that maybe Jim had been right when he said Emily was doing much better.

The two walked along the river and Dean noticed a sign that said “Sunrise Apartments”. It took a while, and some scheming but they eventually devised a plan that involved Sam pulling the fire alarm to get all the people out, or at least the people that weren’t possessed. The plan irritated the hell out of Emily though. She wasn’t involved at all. Dean waited for the fire department to arrive then he distracted the firefighters as Sam stole some of their uniforms. When they were ready to go in Dean took Emily around to the back of the building. “Emily,” he said looking down at her. “Stay here, I’ll come get you.” Emily nodded reluctantly and waited for the three of them to show and for them to leave. She stood there for a long time. Emily noticed a man walking down the street. She got that same sick feeling she had with Meg and she studied him for a moment. Emily turned the corner and walked down the street a little. She took a spot hidden under a staircase, thinking she would still be able to see where Sam and Dean would be coming from.

Dean helped their father get out the window and out the fire escape. Suddenly something threw him back with an unbelievable force. He slammed against the windshield of a car and sat up. He saw the man straddling Sam and punching him repeatedly across the face. Dean watched for a moment as bruise after bruise appeared on Sam’s face. Finally he took the Colt out of his belt, aimed, and pulled the trigger sending a bullet through the man’s head. He stood and walked over to help Sammy up. Dean carried Sam over to where their father was. He stopped when he realized that Emily was nowhere to be found. His heart raced. Dean set Sam down next to their father and looked around. “Emily,” he shouted. “Emily!” Dean looked down at his father and brother. They were barely conscious and Dean knew more demons would be coming soon. He couldn’t wait anymore. Dean had to get them out of there. He made a note in his mind to make sure that he came back to find her. Then Dean helped Sam and his father up. He put them in his car and tore off down the rode.

Emily waited and waited until the sun started to go down. Dean never did find her. She stood and walked back to where she was supposed to meet them and saw a body on the ground. It was that same man from before. Emily realized that Dean must have killed him then taken Sam and their father somewhere else. Tears filled her eyes. He didn’t take her. She was lost and alone again. Emily closed her eyes and tears slowly fell down her pale cheeks. After a moment she felt that same nauseous feeling and she looked around. There were about four people coming towards her. Emily did the first thing she thought of. She ran. Emily ran as fast as she could down the street, down the highway into the middle of nowhere. It was dark now, very late at night when she finally stopped. She continued walking. It was as if something was leading her. She didn’t know where she was going but at the same times he knew exactly where she was going.

Emily turned and walked down a side road. She followed it until she spotted Dean’s car outside of a small old house. She walked over and glanced through the window, seeing Sam pinned against the wall. It wasn’t until she saw Dean that Emily realized what was going on. Emily’s heart stopped. She felt as though she was being torn apart from the inside. She looked through the window once more and saw Dean. She could hear his cries. Something took over Emily at that moment. She walked towards the door and kicked it open with all her strength. John turned to face Emily, his eyes an almost florescent yellow.

Emily stood in the doorway her head lowered a little. Her hair fell in her face and covered her eyes. There was darkness and strength that emanated off of her. She looked up at John with only her eyes her head was still lowered. There was a dark, menacing look in her eyes. John simply smiled and walked over to her. She turned and seemed to circle around him. “I know you,” he said simply. “Ah, yes I remember. Emily Reynolds,” he said with a hint of pride. “You,” he closed his eyes and smiled. Emily glanced over at Dean and saw his head drop down and blood drip from his mouth. Anger and rage fueled inside her. It was far more than anything she had experienced. What Emily felt inside her was pure hatred. “I had so many plans for you Emily. You were… you were always one of the strongest. Even as an infant I knew your potential. The power you possessed. Don’t you feel it?” John glanced over at Dean and smiled. “You care for him? He takes care of you.”

Emily glared at him and stood between him and Dean’s lifeless body that was still pinned to the wall. “He took care of me,” she said softly, a malicious tone in her voice. “He’s always taken care of me.” Emily paused and raised her head to look John square in the eyes. “My turn,” she said simply. A split second after that John slammed against the wall. Emily walked towards him. John tried to move but couldn’t. “Its not so much fun now is it,” she asked quietly. John tried to speak but found himself unable to breathe.

Sam watched from the wall and after a moment he dropped to his feet and Dean to the ground. He took a deep breath and Sam ran to his side. “Are you all right,” he asked. Dean nodded and looked to their father. Sam looked over at them and he picked the Colt up off the table. He looked at the demon in his father’s body.

The demon smiled and laughed. With a sudden push Emily flew back against the other wall where Dean had been before. Her head slammed against the wall and she fell to the floor again next to Dean. Emily stood up slowly and she glared at him. She wasn’t able to stand for very long though. After a moment she fell to the ground next to Dean once more. Dean managed to move over and he rolled her onto her back, looking down to make sure she was all right.

Sam held the gun at his father and pulled the trigger, shooting him in the leg. He stood over his father with the gun, ready to shoot. Then he heard that voice. It wasn’t the demon speaking. John was begging Sam to shoot him. Dean kept pleading for Sam not to shoot him. Emily was half conscious and she tried to follow what was going on but it was hard. Finally Sam lowered the gun and just after that the demon left John’s body. Emily sat up slowly. She was stronger than Dean and she held him up. Emily looked over at him and smiled. “I took care of you,” she whispered. He smiled faintly at her and nodded. Sam and Emily helped get John and Dean into the car. Sam drove, John was in the front passenger seat next to him, Dean was in the back on the driver’s side, and Emily sat next to him, hugging her knees to her chest.

Dean had lost a lot of blood and Emily kept looking over at him. Her heart was racing. Dean was all she had left if he died she’d be alone, even if Sam was still here. Dean was her protector, her lifeline. Sam drove as fast as he could down the street. He fought with his father about the bullet and Emily noticed him looked through the mirror at Dean. She looked over at Dean and smiled, taking his hand in hers. Everything would be all right, she was sure of it. Then with a sudden jolt Emily flew across the car and landed next to Dean. She was able to curl up in a small enough ball that she didn’t get crushed. She looked up and was the only one of them to see what hit them, a large semi-truck. Emily felt a warm red liquid flow down her face. She looked up and realized that it was not only her blood but Dean’s as well. She looked up at his face and it was the last thing she saw before Emily clenched her hand around his and everything went black.

Wild Angel Ch. 5

2006-05-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

Emily spent the next few months with Jim Murphy. She learned a lot from him. She’s still terribly shy but she’s learned that not everyone should be feared. Jim got her to open up to him, tell him about her father, and to tell him about Dean. Dean was the first person she remembered that ever cared for her, really cared for her safety and her feelings. Sure she had teachers that worried but no one ever did anything. Dean was the first person that ever showed that he genuinely cared what happened to Emily.

Emily spent most of her days in the basement of the church. She wasn’t much for socializing and to be honest the people that came in scared her sometimes. There was a feeling she got with some of them that made her nervous. It was only nerves though. That is until one day about three months after she had been there. Emily was down in the basement; she was walking up the stairs to find Jim. Emily stood in the back and stopped when she felt this feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt as though she were going to be sick. Emily had never felt that before.

When she looked up she saw a young woman walking up to Jim. There was something about this blonde that Emily didn’t trust, but she was too frightened to do anything. She froze, standing there and staring. She watched for a moment until she saw the girl’s eyes turn black. Then, with a speed she didn’t know she had Emily ran down the stairs. Jim had set up a small space in the corner of his weapons room that Emily could hide in. She was small enough to fit and no one would see her unless they knew it was there. Emily ran down into the room and hid in her little hole.

She was trembling terribly and she shut her eyes. Then she heard footsteps. Emily opened her eyes and saw Jim run into the room. He took out a knife and threw it at the woman. She caught it and Emily wasn’t really sure what happened next. She heard the woman speak but was so frightened she couldn’t understand it. Emily sat there and watched as the woman slit Jim’s throat. Emily almost screamed but she knew better than that. The woman stood over the body for a moment then looked over in Emily’s direction. She swore that the woman was looking right at her but eventually she left. Emily stayed there for hours afraid to come out in case the woman was still there.

She stared at the body and watched as the blood flowed to the floor and into the hole she was sitting in. She tried to keep it from getting in her hair but was terribly unsuccessful. Emily sat there, hugging her knees to her chest replaying the events over and over in her mind. The sound of his final breath echoed in her mind. She could have done something, stopped it somehow. Why hadn’t she done anything? Jim took care of her she should have protected him. She was just starting to like Jim. She hadn’t smiled or laughed so much in her entire life. She rocked back and forth and it wasn’t until late that night that she finally left the hole. She walked across the room and stood next to Jim’s body. Her hands trembled as she slowly closed his eyes.

Emily stood there for a long time, unsure of what to do. She didn’t have anywhere to go. Her hands shook terribly as she slowly made her way up the stairs to the small bedroom she had in the back of the church. Emily curled up in her bed and stayed there for two days. Finally she remembered where she put Dean’s phone number. She called but got no answer. Emily looked down and noticed a small note on her table for her. It was written in Jim’s handwriting. The note read: “Sam and Dean are in Salvation Iowa. They’re safe and their father is with them. Don’t you worry. Sam says hi.”

Emily looked down at it then she quickly ran over to her closet. She gathered her clothes together and threw them into a small backpack. Then she stood and looked down at a picture she had of Sam and Dean. Jim had given it to her; it was a picture of them when Dean was about fifteen. It was all she had of them. Emily grabbed it and threw it in her bag, along with a cell phone that belonged to Jim.

Emily walked out of her room and back down to where Jim’s body was. She stood there for a moment. “I’ll find them,” she whispered. The Emily turned and headed out of the church. She wasn’t sure where she was going, or how she was going to get there. But she knew she would find Sam and Dean. She walked along the highway for several hours before calling Dean’s cell phone again. Still there was nothing. She was getting tired and she hadn’t eaten in at least two days. Emily was exhausted and hungry but she wouldn’t give up.

It wasn’t until early the next morning that she noticed a truck stop ahead of her. She walked passed it and stopped when she got to the front. “You need a ride miss,” the man asked. He was a younger man with dark hair and dark eyes. His skin was tanned and he looked as though he hadn’t shaved in a couple days. Emily stood there for a moment. She didn’t trust people in general she wasn’t sure if she should trust this man either. She had packed a gun and several knives before she left so she was ready to defend herself if need be. Emily nodded slowly and the man opened the door of his black pick-up truck.

Emily climbed in and sat down on the seat. She hugged her knees to her chest and stored her bag on the floor by her feet. Emily looked over at him and she closed the door. Then he pulled back onto the road. He glanced over at her and smiled. “Name’s Tristan,” he said with a smile, looking over to the girl.

Emily glanced over at him but she didn’t say anything at first. She looked down and then glanced over at him once more. “Emily,” she whispered.

“Emily, that’s a nice name,” Tristan said with a smile. He looked over at her and noticed that she was rather pale. She was trembling too. “If you’re cold there’s a coat behind you that you can wear,” he offered. “I got some sandwiches in the cooler down there too if you’re hungry. Some stuff I picked up for dinner last night but didn’t eat.”

Emily leaned down and opened the cooler. Inside she found a cheeseburger that hadn’t been eaten. She picked it up and looked over at him. He nodded and she smiled. Emily took it out of its wrapper and took a few small bites. She didn’t want to make it too painfully obvious that she was hungry. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

“So,” he asked quietly. “Where ya headed?” The man had a small accent, hardly even noticeable. His voice reminded her of Dean’s. He glanced over at her and smiled. She seemed so nervous, he felt bad. Tristan didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. He saw her walking and she looked so fragile. He couldn’t just leave her to walk.

“Iowa,” she said softly.

“Really,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll be damned. I’m headed to Des Moines, meeting some family there.” He laughed and smiled at her. “Where you headed in Iowa, I might be driving through.”

“Salvation,” she whispered.

“Salvation, Salvation,” he said to himself. “Hold on.” Tristan pulled off to the side and Emily looked over at him. He leaned behind her to grab something and she backed away. He glanced up and smiled. “Relax,” he said quietly. “I was just getting this,” he said taking out a map. He looked through it and then looked over at her. “I was checkin’ to see if we go through Salvation on the way.” Tristan looked at the map then he folded it up and put it back behind her. “Well, we don’t go directly through it but it’s not that far off course. You want me to drop you off there,” he asked.

She looked at him, still nervous. She didn’t have the bad feeling she got with the blonde woman though. She nodded slowly and eventually smiled. “Thank you,” she whispered again.

Tristan simply smiled and pulled back out onto the road. “It’ll take a day or so,” he said glancing over at her. She was sitting and staring out the window. He smiled and looked back ahead of him as they drove down the highway. After a while he glanced over at her and noticed she was asleep with her head against the window. He noticed her shivering and he reached behind her and grabbed a blanket then he carefully managed to keep driving and wrap the blanket around her at the same time. He looked over at her and smiled.

Several hours later Emily woke up as they pulled up to a hotel. Tristan ran inside and got a room, with two beds and then drove around to find a parking spot. He parked the pickup truck and the two got out and walked into the room. She looked around then back at Tristan. Emily smiled and he smiled back at her. She was strange, in his mind at least. He didn’t know what to make of this girl. She was quiet, it was almost creepy but he didn’t get any creepy vibe off of her. Emily sat down on the bed and opened up her backpack. She took out her cell phone and tried once more to call Dean. Still there was nothing. Tristan watched as her face turned from a normal, blank one, to a look of disappointment.

Tristan sat down next to her on the bed and looked over at her. “What’s wrong,” he asked quietly.

“Dean won’t answer his phone and he hasn’t called me back yet.” Dean promised that he would call her back if she called. She had called several times by now and still heard nothing from him.

“Who’s Dean,” he asked quietly. “Is he your… your boyfriend or something?”

Emily looked up at him she was smiling and obviously trying not to laugh. She shook her head slowly and hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. Her long brown hair fell in front of her face but she didn’t notice. What was Dean? She had never really thought about it before. Then it came to her, though she wasn’t sure how Sam felt about it. “Brother,” she whispered with a smile on her face.

“Oh,” Tristan said softly. Emily couldn’t see it but he was smiling. He looked over at her and tucked her hair behind her ear. It caused her head to whip around and she stared at him. “Sorry,” he said quickly. She simply smiled and he looked down for a minute. There was a long awkward silence then he stood quickly and looked over at her. “I umm… I’m gonna… I’m gonna get a shower,” he said quickly.

Emily looked at him confused he was acting weird. It didn’t make her worry though it only made her laugh. He seemed nervous or something. She smiled and looked down as he gathered some clothes from his suitcase and walked into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and after a moment Emily heard the water start. She lay back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. She had come so far in the last few months and she wanted Dean to see her progress.

She was lost in thought, her memories of Dean and Sam. She looked up when she heard the door open and sat Tristan walk out with only a pair of flannel pajamas pants on. He wasn’t bad looking at all. Emily had come far enough to notice that. She never really noticed Dean’s looks but she was so afraid her father would find her she didn’t notice much of anything. She noticed this man though. His dark curly hair hung in his eyes a bit. His skin perfectly tanned, it reminded her of Dean’s skin tone. He was tall, she hadn’t noticed that before but she hadn’t seen him standing. Tristan’s eyes were dark, but not menacing. They were soft, almost inviting. His smile was comforting as well.

Tristan stopped when he saw her looking at him and smiled, he was actually blushing. He walked over to his suitcase and found a black t-shirt and put it on. “Sorry bout that,” he said quietly. “Forgot a shirt.” He laughed and sat down on the other bed, facing Emily. Emily sat up and faced Tristan, hugging her knees to her chest. There was silence for a long time. After a while Tristan finally spoke. “So this Dean… is he uh… is he in… in Salvation?”

Emily looked over at Tristan. She knew she shouldn’t say yes just in case but she was going there and she already said she couldn’t get a hold of Dean. “Maybe,” she said softly. That was the best answer she could think of. “That’s the last place I knew him to be,” she said quietly. “I haven’t seen him for a few months.”

“Oh,” he said quietly. Tristan looked down then he looked back up at her. “You look tired,” he said quietly. “You should get some sleep, I plan on leaving early tomorrow.” Emily nodded and lay her head down on the pillow, pulling the covers over her. “Good night Emily,” Tristan said sweetly as he turned out the light. Emily smiled and looked over at him. He was already asleep. She smiled and closed her eyes.

Emily fell asleep quickly and slept peacefully through the night. The next morning she was awoken by a soft shake. She opened her eyes and looked up to see Tristan sitting on the edge of the bed looking down at her. He smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Morning beautiful,” he said with a smile.

Emily turned the brightest shade of red imaginable when he said beautiful. She knew it probably meant nothing, just a casual greeting but no one had ever said that to her before so it meant a lot. She sat up slowly and accidentally bumped his head. “Sorry,” she whispered. Tristan laughed and rubbed her forehead gently. He stood and packed up his suitcase. Emily stood and did the same with her backpack. It didn’t take long for the two of them to be ready to go.

“You wanna get some breakfast,” he asked with a smile. “There’s a small diner down the street.” Emily smiled but it quickly faded. She didn’t have time for this she had to find Dean. “I don’t have time, I’m in a hurry,” she said softly.

“Well I’m driving and the driver won’t get far without food so what say you that we stop for a little bit to get food?” Emily sighed and nodded. Tristan smiled and lifted her head to look at him. “Besides you look like you could use some food,” he said with a smile. Emily smiled and followed him to his truck. They climbed inside and Tristan took off out of the parking lot. He stopped in the drive-thru of a McDonalds. They got some food and continued on the road.

Tristan told Emily that they should be in Salvation by the end of the day. That made her happy. Emily was quiet for most of the drive but every time she looked over at Tristan he was smiling at her. After about four hours of silence Tristan finally spoke. “You’re different,” he said simply. He laughed as he said it. “That sounds so stupid but I mean it in a good way.” He smiled at her and they were silent again.

Several more hours passed and they came to a hotel in Salvation Iowa. Tristan pulled into the parking lot and Emily looked over at him. She thanked him and he smiled at her. As she was getting out he grabbed her arm gently and looked at her with a smile. “Hey, Emily,” he said quietly. “Do you think maybe…. Maybe I could have your phone number or something? I’d… I’d like to keep in touch.”

Emily smiled and nodded. Tristan handed her a piece of paper and she wrote down the number then handed it to him. The half of the paper that hadn’t been written on Tristan used to write his number. He smiled and handed it to her and as he leaned over he placed a small innocent kiss on her cheek. Emily smiled and turned bright red. “It was nice meeting you Emily,” he said with a smile as she got out of the truck. Emily smiled and nodded as she closed the door. She watched as Tristan reluctantly pulled away and she was left alone outside the hotel in Salvation, Iowa. There was now a new quest ahead of her. She had to find Dean.

Wild Angel Ch. 4

2006-05-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

The boys left the bathroom and walked back out into the room. Dean looked over at Emily who was curled up in a ball on the bed. He sighed and looked down, leaning against the table in between the two beds and on the opposite wall. Dean wasn’t sure what to do. This girl needed help, help neither Sam or Dean could give her. He was in over his head with her because he knew the longer they were together the harder it would be to separate her from him. For once Dean wished their father would just answer his phone calls.

Dean looked over at Sam, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. There was silence for a long time. Then Dean looked back over at Emily. She was asleep. She looked so peaceful, so pure when she was asleep. Not that she didn’t when she was awake, because in all senses Emily was completely untainted, completely pure almost like a child, but when she was asleep she didn’t have the fear she possessed when she was awake. It reminded Dean of Sam when they were younger. The kid was flawless when he was asleep but when he was awake he was scared, he would fight with their father, he was annoying. Dean sighed and looked over at Sam, who was watching Emily. Dean wasn’t sure if he could handle the pressure of protecting the both of them. He had enough trouble keeping Sam alive. Though Emily was infinitely less stubborn that Sam.

“We have to come up with some kind of plan Sam,” Dean said quietly, to keep from waking Emily. “Her father isn’t dead, I saw him. I could hear his breathing. This man has to be stopped or he’ll keep coming after Emily until she’s dead, permanently,” he said with a sigh.

“So what are you suggesting Dean,” Sam said coldly. He knew exactly what his older brother was suggesting. It hadn’t been the first time Dean suggested something like that and that worried Sam. “If he’s alive, we can’t kill him. I’m not going to have that on my conscience and I’m not going to let you either. If we kill him we’ll be just as bad as him.” Dean sighed and Sam smiled almost triumphantly. “So we find some way to stop him, or,” Sam paused and looked over at Emily. “We take her and go.”

“We can’t leave this unfinished Sam. I won’t leave her with the fear that her father will find her.”

“There aren’t many other alternatives Dean,” Sam snapped. He looked over at Emily. She moved when he snapped but she didn’t wake up. “What else can we do,” he whispered.

Dean sighed and looked down. He ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes. “I don’t know,” he said simply. “Let me think on it.” Dean lay down on the floor with the pillow between the two beds. Sam lay down on the floor just outside the bathroom, since his bed was now covered in blood from Emily.

“I’ll stay awake for a while and make sure no one gets in. I’ll wake you up in a few hours and you can watch her,” Sam said softly. He heard no response from his brother. “Dean,” he whispered. Sam sat up and looked over at Dean to find him already asleep. “Great,” he sighed laying his head back down on the pillow.

Sam tried his best to stay awake but eventually sleep took him. Dean woke late that night, or early in the morning whichever way you choose to look at it. He heard movement and it woke him. Dean sat up rubbing his eyes. He got up just in time to see Emily leaving the room. Dean stood and walked behind her silently. Dean wasn’t sure if she was awake or not. So he followed behind her as quietly as he could. She walked slowly, gracefully. Dean took note of that. He followed her out into the parking lot, down the street, through the town, past the cemetery, and all the way back to her house. He wanted to stop her but wasn’t sure what she was doing.

Dean watched her walk down into the cellar and was about to follow her when someone grabbed his arm. Dean jumped and was about to punch whoever took his arm then he realized it was Sam. “Damn it Sam,” he whispered. “What the hell are you doing here,” he asked.

“You woke me up,” Sam answered simply. “What do you think she’s doing here,” he asked. Almost as if on cue they heard a scream from inside the house. The boys looked to the house then at each other and they ran in. Dean got down in the cellar first and when he got down there he stopped dead, causing Sam to run into him. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Emily stood staring at her father. He was against the wall across the room. It seemed as though he couldn’t move and he looked to be in a great deal of pain.

“Emily, baby what are you doing,” he asked quietly. “I just wanted us to be a family again.” That only seemed to make Emily angrier and a large gash appeared across his face.

“Emily stop that,” Dean called to her. She turned her head towards Dean and another gash appeared across her father’s chest. “Emily stop,” he said softly.

“Sam said you couldn’t,” she whispered. “Sam said it was wrong. Sam said that you couldn’t do it,” she whispered. There was darkness in her eyes, they were innocent and pure yet if one looked deep into them there was darkness there. “I can,” she said simply. She turned her head to face her father once more and when she looked in front of her she saw Sam. Emily looked up and screamed sending Sam flying across the room. He was shot straight into the room she had been in and the door slammed shut.

Dean could hear Sam pounding on the door. The room was air tight, if Sam kept pounding on the door and shouting the way he was he would quickly use up all the oxygen. Dean knew this. Dean ran to Emily and grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. “Emily stop it,” he shouted. She got scared and Dean went flying away from her. Emily looked back at her father and she walked over to the table. It held all sorts of needles with different things in them. She looked down at the table then over at her father. Emily wasn’t a killer and Dean knew that. Dean got up and walked over to her. He stood behind her and turned her to face him. He knew what Emily was going to do but he couldn’t turn her into a killer. She was too pure and he didn’t want to damage that. Dean stood there for a moment and pulled the gun he had with him out of the back of his belt. He looked down at her, staring into the girl’s frightened, innocent eyes. Dean raised the gun; his hand was shaking for the first time since he was a kid. He looked down at Emily. “I’m sorry,” he whispered then he pulled the trigger. As soon as he did the pounding in the room stopped and the door opened. Sam stood there and stared. He looked at Dean holding the gun over Emily’s shoulder then he looked at her father who lay dead on the floor across the room. “I couldn’t make you what I am,” he said quietly. After a moment Dean put the gun away and tucked Emily’s hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to worry anymore,” he whispered.

Sam stared at Dean. His brother just killed a human being. He was a murderer. Sam understood though, he knew Dean had to do what he did because it was better for Dean to be the killer than for Emily to be a killer. Sam walked up to him and looked from Emily to Dean as Dean wrapped his arms around the girl’s small fragile form. Dean looked over at his brother and Sam swore he saw tears in Dean’s eyes. “She’s safe now,” Sam whispered. Dean simply nodded.

Back at the hotel, Emily was sleeping again and Sam and Dean were packing their things. They planned on leaving during the night while Emily was asleep. Dean looked over again as they were about to leave. He watched her sleep and then he dropped his bag. “We can’t leave her hear Sam,” Dean said softly. “She’d be devastated and I can’t hurt her like that. Plus what are people going to think? She’s supposed to be dead and haunting that house.” Sam nodded and sat down on the end of the bed.

“How far are we from Pastor Jim,” Sam asked quietly, looking up at Dean.

“Couple days drive,” he said with a sigh. Dean nodded. He walked over to Emily and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. “Emily,” he whispered tucking her hair behind her ear once more. “Emily.” Emily slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Hey,” he said with a smile. Sam watched he was amazed to hear such tenderness from his brother. “We gotta get goin,” he whispered. “Come on.”

Emily sat up and looked at him confused. “I’m… I’m going… going with you,” she asked.

Dean nodded and smiled at her. “For a little while yeah,” he answered. She stood and Dean put his arm around her to help her. She was still weak and not quite awake yet. The boys packed up the car and Dean helped Emily into the backseat. Then they got in, Dean started up the car and they pulled out of the parking lot and tore off down the highway. Dean glanced through the mirror at Emily who was looking out the window at the sky. “Emily,” he said quietly. She looked over at him when he said her name. “Sam and I can’t keep you with us, you understand that right? With what we do it would be too dangerous and I don’t want you to get hurt.” She nodded slowly but something told Dean she didn’t believe him. “We’re going to leave you with a friend of ours all right. He’ll take good care of you.” Dean paused and looked over at Sam. “Sammy you should call him before we show up with a strange girl and leave,” he said with a laugh. Then Dean looked in the mirror back at Emily. “His name’s Pastor Jim, well his name’s just Jim, that’s not the point,” Dean said before he started rambling. “He’ll take care of you. We’ll keep in touch, let him know where we are from time to time so you don’t get worried all right. He’s a good guy and knows how to protect you from the things that might hurt you.” Again Emily nodded but Dean could tell she didn’t want him to leave.

After that the drive was silent. The finally got to Pastor Jim’s church and Dean and Sam walked in with Emily. It was fairly empty and Dean smiled when he saw Jim. “Hey old man,” he said with a smile.

“I was shocked when you called Sam,” he said with a smile. “Wow, you boys are growing up.”

“Well one of us obviously ate more vegetables,” Dean said pointing to Sam who was a good three inches taller than him. Dean laughed and looked down at the girl who was all but hiding behind him. “Jim, this is Emily,” he said moving Emily in front of him. She backed away from Jim and Dean couldn’t figure out why she was so scared. Then he remembered what her father told her. He sighed and looked at Sam. “Sammy watch her there’s some things I need to explain to Jim.” Sam nodded and Jim and Dean walked off. “Emily’s special,” he said quietly. “Kinda off.”

“Yeah, I got that,” Jim said with a laugh glancing back at Sam and Emily. They were sitting in a pew and she was curled up with her head on Sam’s lap.

Dean laughed when he saw it. “That’s the first time she hasn’t been completely terrified of Sam,” Dean said quietly. “Her mother, she uhhh… it was uhh… it was the same demon that killed-”

“Mary,” Jim said finishing Dean’s sentence for him.

“Yeah,” Dean said looking down. “Anyway, her dad didn’t take it too well, not that anyone would but uhh… he blamed her. Spent the rest of her life trying to figure out what she did or what he connection was with it. Sam and I found her about a week ago in the cellar of her burned down house. She had been asleep in that room for three years. Everyone thought she was dead. Anyway, umm… her father died in the second fire,” Dean lied. “She’s afraid of you and most likely this place because her father told her she was the devil’s child.”

“Oh,” Jim said looking over at them again. “I see.”

“Yeah, so it might take some getting used to but ya know, she’ll be fine. Just keep her away from anything that could possibly be dangerous for a while." Jim looked at him with a questioning look. “Oh, yeah, she can move things with her mind. The first time she got scared she locked herself in the bathroom…. Without locking the door,” Dean said with a smile. “But really, Jim she’s harmless. She just gets scared easily and with what her father did to her I don’t blame her.” Dean sighed and looked back at his brother and Emily. “Keep her safe. Set up some place for her to hide, or something if someone comes for you. Not that I’m saying anyone would but you know, your connection with us and Dad, you never know. Just… just make sure she’s safe. I promised her she’d be safe here.”

Jim nodded and the two walked back to Sam and Emily. Emily sat up and looked up at Jim with fear in her eyes. Dean sat next to her. “Em, remember what I said about your father? He lied to you, you are not the devil’s child. And Jim will take good care of you.”

Jim smiled at her and offered her his hand. “Its nice to meet you Emily. Now, lets go see what clothes we have stashed away for you. I’m sure they’ll be better than his,” he said looking at Dean. Emily smiled and actually laughed. She stood and walked with Jim back towards the back of the church. Dean and Sam stood and were walking out of the church.

“Dean,” a small girl’s voice called. Dean turned around and Emily walked up to him. “You’ll find your daddy,” she whispered to him, with a smile on her face.

Dean smiled and wrote his cell phone number down on a piece of paper. “Here, you hold on to this and anytime you want to talk to me you call all right. I can’t guarantee I’ll answer right then but I will call you back all right?” Emily nodded and walked back to Pastor Jim. Then Sam and Dean walked out of the church to continue their seemingly never-ending search to find their father. “She’ll be fine,” Dean said more to himself than to Sam as they got in the car and tore down the highway onto their next mission.

Wild Angel Ch. 3

2006-04-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Sam sighed and paced back and forth across the room. He looked over at Dean, who was holding the sleeping form of a blood-soaked Emily. Dean had a wet cloth and he was trying his best to clear the blood off of her. Sam leaned against the wall and glanced up at his brother a couple times. The look in Dean’s eyes Sam had never seen before. He watched as his brother gently brushed away the blood from her face, moving her blood-soaked hair out of her face as well. There was a look of pain in his eyes as he looked down at the girl. Not only was there pain but there was confusion and anger. Finally, after he could take it no longer, Sam pushed himself away from the wall and cleared his throat. “I’m gonna umm… I’m gonna see what I can figure out,” Sam said softly. “Ask questions about the family, see if maybe there’s someone she would…hurt.”

Dean simply nodded, he was obviously too distracted by Emily to really hear what Sam had said. Sam sighed and headed out of the hotel room. When he got to the door Dean finally looked up. “Don’t you wreck that car,” Dean said. Sam smiled faintly and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. When Sam got outside he noticed the painful pang of an emotion he didn’t really understand, jealousy. What was he jealous of? Sam decided to think little of it and he got in the car and pulled away from the hotel.

When Sam was gone Dean looked down at Emily once more. He bit his lip and sighed. She was drenched in blood and he had no idea where it came from. Dean set the girl on the bed, knowing the owners of the hotel would be furious about this. Then Dean stood and walked into the bathroom. He knelt over the side of the tub and turned on the water, waiting for it to fill up. Then Dean walked out of the bathroom and back over to Emily. He picked her up and carried her into the room. Then Dean took off the clothes he had given her last night and sat there for a moment, holding her unconscious form in his arms.

He thought for a while on what would be the best way to do this. Again, as the night before, the fact that she was completely naked meant very little to Dean. That was not usually the case for women and Dean. However he was much more concerned with the blood that covered her body. He didn’t want her to wake up and find herself covered in blood it would frighten her. So Dean picked took off his socks and shoes, but that was the extent of his stripping. Then he climbed in the tub, holding her in his arms still and sat down.

Dean still held the cloth he had been using in the other room to rid her of the blood. He set her down in the water and wiped the blood away. After a few moments she was clean once more, though the water had a red tint to it. He stood and climbed out then carried her to the other bed and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders. Dean grabbed some clothes, went into the bathroom and changed before reemerging to find Emily curled up in a fetal position.

She was awake and Dean could see her trembling. He walked over to her, he still hadn’t put on the dry shirt but he didn’t notice, and sat down next to her. Dean brushed her hair out of her face and looked down at her. “Mornin,” he whispered. Dean saw Emily’s eyes look up at him. He smiled at her and sighed. “Emily, where did you go last night,” he asked softly. She was silent for a long time. “Please tell me.”

“Home,” she whispered. Her voice was so soft he could barely hear it.

“Home,” he asked. He looked down and sighed. Emily closed her eyes and shivered. Dean placed his hand on her back and sighed. “Shh,” he whispered. After another few silent moments he spoke again. “Emily what happened when you went home,” he asked quietly.

Emily’s eyes lowered and she curled up in a ball. Dean almost felt bad for asking but he had to know. “D… da… daddy,” she whispered. “He’s angry.”

Dean looked confused as she spoke. He thought her father was dead. A spirit maybe, that wouldn’t explain the blood. Then Dean remembered what the projection of Emily looked like. She was covered in blood. “Emily did your father do this to you,” he asked. If her father was a spirit maybe he wanted to recreate the projection he made of Emily. Who’s blood she had on her was still a mystery to him.

Emily nodded and looked up at him slowly. “He’s angry,” she whispered. “N… not safe. He’ll come for you.”

That caught Dean’s attention. Most spirits were bound to the confines of one place. If her father would come for them then maybe he wasn’t a spirit. If that was true Sam was in danger. Dean pulled out his cell phone and called Sam. He waited for an answer but there was nothing. “Damn it,” he muttered. Then he looked down at Emily. She was so fragile. He didn’t understand how she could be so strong at the same time.

Dean bit his lip and stood. “I’ll be right outside Emily, all right,” he asked quietly. Then Dean stood and walked outside. Once outside he closed the door behind him and did the only other thing he could think of to do. His hands shook as he took the cell phone from his pocket once more. The cursor highlighted over the word “Dad” for a long time before he finally hit sent. After waiting, and getting the same response he got every time he called his father Dean took a deep breath. “Hey Dad,” he said in a shaky voice. “Listen uhh, Sammy and I are in North Dakota and umm… well there’s this girl and uhh…” Dean paused and swallowed hard. “Well this girl’s mom died the same way ours did and umm… I guess her dad didn’t take it so well and… What I’m trying to say Dad is that… I don’t know how to take care of her. She needs someone like you. I don’t know what to do with her and she’s…” Dean paused and looked into the window at Emily. “She’s different. I can’t do this and her father is angry and possibly some kind of spirit or something and I think it might go after Sam and… and I think I’m in over my head here Dad.” With that Dean hung up and walked back into the hotel room.

He walked over to the bed and sat down. “You call… ca… called your… your fa… father,” she asked softly.

Dean looked at her surprised. “Yeah, how’d… how’d you know,” he asked with a slight smile. Dean’s voice hadn’t been anywhere near loud enough for her to hear. Emily simply smiled. “You heard? How?” She didn’t answer again. She really was gifted. Dean wondered if Sam would be like that too. “Yeah, I called my dad. Though, it didn’t really do much good.” Dean brushed the hair out of her face and smiled at her.

“Sc… scared,” she whispered. Emily sat up slowly, holding the blanket up to her. At least this time she was away she had no clothes. Dean finally remembered that and he got up. Dean grabbed her another pair of pants and a t-shirt. She put them on and sat on the edge of the bed next to Dean. She looked over at him slowly and sighed. “Of… of me,” she whispered.

“No, no,” he said quickly. “I’m not afraid of you, I’m afraid for you.” Dean sighed and looked down at her as she sat back and hugged her knees to her chest. He got up and got Emily a glass of water then handed it to her. “Here, it’ll help,” he whispered. He watched Emily take the cup and take a few sips. She smiled at him and took another few sips. Dean sighed and shook his head. “Our mom, Sammy and me, our mom she uhh… she died the same way yours did,” he said though she already knew. “Emily, I don’t care what your father has told you. You were not in any way responsible for what happened to your mother and brother,” he said simply.

Emily stared at him and almost dropped the cup of water that she had, if Dean hadn’t of caught it she would have. Tears filled her eyes and slowly fell down her cheek. Dean leaned forward and quickly wiped her tears away. No one had ever told her that it wasn’t her fault. These boys were unlike anyone she had met. Though Sam terrified her almost more than her father. There was fire in his eyes.

Dean sighed and bit his lip before taking the cup from her. He gently motioned for her to lie down. “You should get some rest,” he whispered. She nodded and curled up in a ball on the bed. She was still so exhausted. Dean could see it in her eyes. Her skin was pale and there were dark circles around her eyes. She shivered a little and Dean pulled the blanket over her head. Only seconds later she was asleep. Dean sighed and walked into the bathroom. He let the water out of the tub and walked over to the sink. Dean leaned against the counter and looked in the broken mirror.

This was taking its toll on him as well. Dean was exhausted both mentally and physically. Dean looked down and ran some water in the sink. He splashed it on his face and sighed. He had to gather his thoughts. He could feel so much anger in him because of what her father did to her. Dean sighed and looked back in the mirror. He was shocked to find a man standing behind him in his reflection. Dean turned quickly and saw the man standing there. He recognized the man from the pictures at Emily’s house. It was her father.

“Stay the hell away from my little girl,” he said coldly. The man didn’t look like any sort of spirit that Dean had seen. He had no signs that he actually died and he didn’t even look dead. The man moved to Dean and slammed him against the wall, with his hand at Dean’s throat. “You and your stupid little brother, stay the hell away from my baby girl,” he commanded.

Dean hated being ordered around, especially by an enemy. Dean struggled to get free but this guy was strong. “Sorry about that Mr. Reynolds,” he said with a cocky smile. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I made a promise to your ‘baby girl’. I don’t go back on my promises,” he said though his voice was strained by the time he finished since he couldn’t breathe. Brian tightened his grip on Dean’s throat and Dean felt himself becoming light-headed. His vision was coming in and out and he could almost feel himself lose consciousness.

“Daddy,” a loud shout from the doorway shot through the silence. Brian let go of Dean and dropped his unconscious body to the ground as he turned to his daughter.

“Come on Emily, we’re going home.” He walked up to his daughter and grabbed Emily’s arm. She struggled against him but he was too strong. He dragged her out the door but as he was pulling her away Sam pulled up to the hotel. He jumped out of the car and easily pulled Emily out of Brian’s arms. “I’ll come back for you Em,” he said quickly. “Don’t you worry.” Then he ran off down the street.

Sam carried the girl back into the room and set her gently on the bed. Then he noticed Dean. “Dean,” he shouted. Sam ran into the bathroom and over to Dean. He knelt down beside his brother and checked for a pulse. Luckily there was one. He was breathing too but it was faint. Sam breathed a sigh of relief and turned when he heard a sound behind him. Emily stood in the doorway looking at them. She didn’t say anything but there was fear in her eyes. Sam sighed and looked back at her. He stood and walked over to her. “He’ll be all right,” he said softly.

As soon as he said that, almost on cue Dean began to wake up. “Sammy,” he asked before opening his eyes. Dean stood slowly and looked over at them. He could see a red mark on her pale skin from where her father had grabbed her. Dean sighed and shook his head. “Emily, can you go back and lay down I would like to talk to Sammy alone?” Emily nodded and walked back to the bed. Sam walked over to his brother and Dean sighed, leaning against the wall. “I umm… I called Dad,” he said simply. “I thought maybe… maybe he could help.”

“Did he answer,” Sam asked eagerly. His excitement faded quickly when Dean shook his head. Sam nodded slowly showing that he understood. “She’ll be okay Dean,” he said reassuringly. He still felt those pangs of jealousy and couldn’t explain why. He wouldn’t say anything to Dean though. He just bottled it up like everything else.

Wild Angel Ch. 2

2006-04-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

“What do you mean,” Dean asked softly. He didn’t want to scare the girl.

“He said I brought the fire,” she whispered. Tears filled her innocent childlike eyes.

Dean sighed and looked from the girl to Sam. Worry filled the older man’s face. “Emily,” Dean said quietly. “Is it all right if you come with us? We’ll take care of you.” She looked at him with fear at first. She was reluctant to go with them. Emily eventually agreed though. Dean picked her up but she insisted on walking by herself. He sighed and walked behind Emily. After stumbling several times, Emily finally gave into letting Dean help her. Dean took her arm and draped it over his shoulder, and then he put his arm around her waist to steady her. As they walked to the car, Sam ran into the house and grabbed some clothes for her. Her steps were slow, as if she had to consciously think about putting effort into walking. Dean helped her most of the way. Her body was so tiny in his arms. Dean was finally able to get a good look at her when she stood. She was covered in bruises and her arms were littered with scars. Most of them seemed to be from needles. That worried Dean as he helped her into the car. After Sam and Dean got in the Impala, Dean looked back at her and smiled. She was staring contently out the window at the sky. Dean pulled out of the driveway and made the thirty plus minute drive to the hotel. As he pulled into the parking lot, he looked back at Emily. She had fallen asleep. He chuckled to himself as he got out of the car. Dean picked up Emily and carried her into the room, placing her gently on the bed.

Emily woke up from the movement and looked at the boys. Dean sat down next to her and smiled. “Do you think you’re strong enough to take a shower? I think you’d feel better if you got yourself cleaned off a bit.” She nodded slowly and Sam handed her some of the clothes he had taken from the house. Emily stood and walked slowly into the bathroom. Sam looked over at Dean. Both boys sighed in unison and sank down on their corresponding beds. “What are we going to do with her,” Sam asked.

“Well, first off, I want to figure out what the hell her father did to her. I mean, how did he make her sleep so long without any medical equipment. There’s something off about her, other than the obvious,” he said with a sigh. “It was just creepy, the way she looked at me back there. It was as if she was looking through me.” As Dean finished speaking, they heard a piercing scream from the bathroom. Dean ran to the door. It was unlocked but he still couldn’t get in. “Emily,” he shouted, banging on the door. “EMILY!” Finally, Dean was able to open the door. He ran into the room and found Emily sitting in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest. The water was still running in the shower. Dean ran over to her and knelt down in front of her. She was shaking violently as she cried. Dean tucked her wet hair behind her ear. “Emily what’s wrong? What happened?” Dean was consumed with concern. The fact that the girl was completely naked didn’t even register, a first for Dean Winchester.

Emily slowly looked up at him. “Don’t… don’t let him find me,” she whispered. Her voice was still hoarse and soft. “Pl… please,” she pleaded with him.

“Who, your father?” Dean asked softly.

Sam stood in the doorway watching the scene. As soon as Emily looked up and saw him she screamed sending Dean flying across the room. Dean slammed into the mirror. “Dean ,” Sam shouted as he ran to his brother’s side. Dean stood slowly, brushing the glass out of his hair. He looked at Emily then at Sam.

“Don’t… don’t send me back,” she said softly, rocking back and forth. “Daddy will be angry,” she whispered closing her eyes.

“Emily, he’s dead. No one will hurt you,” Dean said softly.

“Lies, games,” she whispered. “Playing games with my head,” she said softly. “Shhh, he’ll hear you. He’s always listening, always. Emily in big trouble,” she said closing her eyes. “She should have listened, should have stayed asleep.” She shut her eyes tightly and covered her ears as if trying to block out some sound.

Dean walked over to her and took her arms, forcing her to stop rocking back and forth and she looked up at him. He grabbed her clothes and handed them to her. “Why don’t you get dressed and calm down. Then we’ll talk about your father.” She looked at him and nodded. The boys left the room and she got dressed. Emily walked out of the bathroom slowly and she sat down on the bed. She leaned against the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. Sam and Dean looked over at her. “What happened in there?” Dean rubbed the back of his head to dull the lingering pain from the mirror. Emily didn’t answer. She simply stared blankly at the wall across the room. Dean sighed and sat down in front of her. “Emily,” he whispered, “we can’t help you if you don’t tell us what happened.”

Emily looked down and hugged her knees to her chest. She bit her lower lip and a few tears fell from her eyes. Dean felt so bad for this girl. He scooted closer to her and wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb. “Bad,” she whispered. “Brought fire.”

“No,” Dean said with an amazingly soothing voice. “You didn’t Emily. Did your father tell you that?” Emily slowly nodded. Dean looked back at Sam almost pleadingly and sighed. Then he turned to Emily. Dean placed two fingers under her chin and raised her head to look at him. “Emily,” he said softly. “How long have you been in that room?”

“As long as I can remember,” she said softly. Dean hated making her speak. Her voice was so hoarse he was sure it had to hurt. “Once a week, every Wednesday, Daddy would tell me ‘Time to go to sleep Emily.’ I would go to sleep and wake up on Friday night,” she whispered. Her voice was broken, frightened. Tears fell from her big brown eyes.

Dean wiped her tears away once more. “Emily, why did you scream when you saw Sam?”

“He had fire in his eyes, like the eyes from my dream.” Emily looked over at Sam as he turned away from her. “Fire gone now,” she whispered. There was a long silence then finally, “Don’t let him find me,” she whispered. Emily buried her head in her hands.

Dean sighed and moved closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her and gently patted her back. Emily lay down and rested her head on his lap. Dean didn’t know what to do for her. He wasn’t used to someone like her. This was Sammy’s area. The people always clung to Sam. Sam knew how to talk to them. Yet this girl was clinging to Dean and he didn’t know what to do. “Shh,” he said softly. Dean gently stroked her hair and looked over at Sam as he sat down on the bed across from Dean and Emily. Both men were silent for almost an hour as Emily cried herself to sleep. Dean picked her up when he was sure she was asleep, and gently set her down on the bed. He pulled the blanket over her and grabbed the extra pillow next to her head. Dean put it on the floor between the two beds, then he lay down an stared at the ceiling, his fingers laced over his stomach.

“Dean,” Sam said quietly as he lay back on the bed. “There’s nothing here. There’s nothing to hunt, nothing to fight.”

“She saw something Sam,” Dean said quickly, almost interrupting his baby brother. Something in there scared her.”

“Dean, what are we supposed to do with her,” Sam asked. “I don’t want to be the one to say it but she needs help Dean.” Sam turned on his side and looked down at his brother as Dean glanced up at him. “She needs help we can’t give her.”

“Are you saying she should be locked up? That’s she’s insane,” Dean said sitting up. “Sam the girl’s been locked up all her life. You want to put a girl an entire town thinks is dead into an institution?”

“Dean,” Sam said with a sigh. “Listen to her,” he said coldly. “Listen to the way she talks. We can’t help her.”

“Hell yes we can,” Dean said quickly. “Sam, she saw something in there. Something about what her father did is still there. Her mother, the fire. There’s got to be something here. We can’t just lock her up before we get any answers about Mom. She said she saw fire in your eyes, like the eyes in her dream. Maybe, maybe she’s seen what did it.” Dean sighed and shook his head. “All that aside, I don’t think its safe for her to be locked up.” Sam gave him a confused look. “Sam, the people here thing her father killed her. How can we explain what happened to her? She’s been asleep for three years with no assistance from technology. No ventilator, no heart monitor, no I.V. How can we explain that without sounding crazy ourselves?”

Sam sighed and lay on his back. “We can’t take her with us Dean. She’s a liability,” he said simply. “She’ll only get in the way, get one of us killed.”

“I know that Sam,” Dean said simply. “I say we stay until we find out exactly what her father did to her, and what the hell happened in that room after she went to sleep. You saw the blood, the marks on the ceiling, her father’s body. We need to find out what happened. I don’t think she saw something in there because she’s crazy. Well, I mean she’s crazy but I think there might have been something in there. She was terrified. I also think she was holding the door shut,” he said simply. Dean looked over at his brother and sighed, “And she sent me across the room.” Dean lay back down and sighed. “We’ll figure out more tomorrow,” he said simply. Dean yawned and Sam turned out the light. The two were asleep within seconds.

When Dean woke up the next morning Sam was still asleep, a rarity with the brothers. He sat up and looked over at Sam. Dean rolled his eyes and slowly pushed himself off the ground. He stood and stretched before turning to check on Emily. When he turned and looked at the bed she was gone. “Shit,” he mumbled. “Sam,” he said shaking his brother. Sam sat up quickly, shocked by the sudden movement. “Emily’s gone.” Dean looked over and noticed the door was open. He ran to the door and looked outside. He stepped outside and searched the horizon for the fragile girl.

Sam eventually walked up behind him. “How long ago do you think she left,” he asked groggily.

“I don’t know. I wish I knew where she’d go though,” Dean said with a sigh. He ran his fingers nervously through his hair and looked around. “Emily,” he called to her. Dean ran to the street and began walking down the street. It wasn’t long before he found her. She was lying on the ground covered in blood. “Emily,” he shouted running to her. Dean picked up the lifeless girl and carried her back to the hotel. “Sam move,” he shouted as his brother got out of the way. Dean set her on the bed and looked for injuries. There were none. The girl was covered in blood though. Dean looked up at Sam with a look of worry in his eyes. “Sam, I don’t think this is her blood.”

NEW STORY: Wild Angel ch. 1

2006-03-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

Sam and Dean Winchester pulled into an old farm town in South Dakota late on a Thursday night. There were rumors of a dangerous and angry spirit in an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of town. The boys decided it was worth a look when Sam discovered that someone actually died as a result of injuries from this spirit. The boys pulled up to the hotel, got a room, and carried their things into the room. As soon as they were in Sam turned on the laptop and began to research. Dean looked over at him and sighed before going into the bathroom and taking a shower.

About ten minutes later Dean emerged from the bathroom, dressed only in his ratty blue jeans. He looked over at Sam as he dug through his bag for a clean shirt, or a shirt in general. “Find anything,” he asked as he put a grey t-shirt on and walked over to Sam.

“Yeah,” Sam answered somewhat excitedly. “This place hasn’t been abandoned nearly as long as I thought, only about three years. Anyway, the last owner of the house was a man named Brian Reynolds. He had a daughter named Emily; apparently a very shy girl since it says most didn’t know her. Here’s the interesting thing, twenty years ago the house burned down, killing Brian’s wife and their son Andrew. He was about three, almost four years older than her.”

“Sounds familiar,” Dean said simply. “Except you know, I’m not dead,” he commented as he dried off his hair.

“So, Reynolds decided to stay in the house. He completely restored it just the way it had been and added a cellar. People said he was never the same after his wife died. I don’t blame him but I’d draw a line at this, he used to lock him and his daughter in the house for days.”

“Freak.”

“Anyway, about three years ago he finally lost it, I mean really lost it. They say he killed his daughter then burned down the house, killing himself as well. I guess the spirit is his daughter seeking revenge or something.”

“Fun,” Dean said sarcastically. “We’ll ask around tomorrow and go check it out tomorrow night. Sam nodded and they went to bed. Sam had trouble sleeping but that was nothing new for him.

The next day the Winchester boys asked casually around where they went about the house and the hauntings. All the stories were the same. The moment anyone stepped within six feet of the house a woman would appear, covered in blood. You would suddenly feel very nauseous and dizzy. The woman would scream and move toward you. The few that came in contact with the woman died instantly as their skin was set on fire. “Looks like we’re definitely dealing with some sort of angry spirit,” Dean said as they gathered the guns together to get ready for their hunt.

They threw the guns and supplies in the back of the car and headed for the Reynolds farm. As they pulled up they saw the charred remains of what had been a beautiful home. Sam and Dean got out of the car, got their weapons ready and slowly walked towards the house. Sure enough as soon as they got within six feet of the house they heard a woman scream. Next to Sam she appeared. Sam moved quickly. The nausea came on soon after that. Sam looked over at Dean as he actually threw up. “Dean,” he shouted to his brother. He ran to Dean’s side. “This isn’t a spirit, at least that’s not what’s causing the nausea.” He pulled Dean back to the car and it all stopped. “High frequency waves,” he said simply. “That’s all it is.” He looked at the house as Dean stood up.

“Whatever that was my lunch back there,” he shouted angrily. “Did you get a look at that girl? What the hell did her father do to her?”

“I don’t know,” Sam said distantly. He studied the house again and walked forward. As soon as he crossed the six-foot mark it started again. Sam looked around, trying to keep from reacting like his brother and losing his lunch. Finally Sam looked over towards the cellar. He saw what seemed to be some kind of projector inside. Sam took the gun and shot at it. Instantly it all stopped. He looked back at Dean. “I don’t think this is a spirit.” He paused and they slowly walked inside the burned house.

“That was a trap,” Dean said as they looked around. Sam found what was left of Emily’s room. It was decorated, as any girl’s would be. There was a bit of pink but not too much, she was after all twenty-one when she died. Sam looked over at her dresser and found some of her clothes, burned but still in tact. They were mostly dresses, old ones too. They looked like they were from the early 19th century. He thought that was a little strange but maybe she was a vintage girl. “Brian Reynolds didn’t want anyone in here for some reason,” Dean said entering the room. “This must have been Emily’s room.”

Sam nodded as he looked around. He found a small bear on the bed, the only thing untouched by the fire. “He must have been hiding something, and I bet you anything its in that cellar.” Dean nodded and the two left the house, walking around back to the cellar entrance. As soon as they opened the doors they knew something was off about it. The walls of the place were made of steel. Sam and Dean walked down the steps of the cellar and looked around. They found pictures on the wall, pictures of Emily and her father. They found older ones with four in the picture. “Dean,” Sam said calling his brother over. He pointed to the picture of a beautiful blonde woman holding a baby girl and a little boy sitting on his father’s shoulders. “That must have been Andrew,” he said simply.

The boys continued to look around. After about ten minutes of searching Dean stopped and stared in front of him. There was a door that led into a small room. Dean opened the door and was floored by what he saw. “Sam,” he whispered turning to his brother. “Sammy get over here.”

Sam turned and looked over at Dean. He walked over and froze at his brother’s side. The room was decorated much like Emily’s upstairs. There was a bed in the middle of the room. That wasn’t what caught their attention though. On the bed, in the center of the room was a woman, no older than Dean. Dean looked back at the pictures then at the woman who seemed to be sleeping. He looked over at Sam. “Emily,” Sam said, raising his eyebrows.

As soon as Sam spoke the woman took in a sharp gasp. The boys looked towards her then at each other. Her fingers moved slowly and Dean walked over to her. She was pale, her faced stained with dirt and blood. In the corner of the room lay, what Sam and Dean could only assume were her father’s charred remains. The bloodstains on her were unusual, to most anyway. “Sammy,” Dean said looking over at his brother. Sam walked over and looked down at her. On the top of her forehead there were about four stains from drops of blood. It wasn’t cuts or anything; it was from drops above her head. Sam looked at Dean and they both looked up. There was nothing there but the ceiling was black as if it had been burned. Sam continued to look at the ceiling while Dean looked down at the girl. “Holy crap,” he said jumping back. This caused Sam to look down. The girl’s eyes were open and watching them. Sam took a step back too.

The girl sat up slowly. She turned so her feet were dangling off the bed. Then she pushed herself off the bed, the blanket that had been on her before fell and the boys found that she was naked. Emily’s legs were strong enough yet so as soon as she stood she fell. Dean caught her and set her back down on the bed. He instantly took his long leather jacket off and wrapped it around her, covering her up. Neither brother knew what to say at this point. “Hey,” Dean said finally. The girl simply looked at him. There was a childlike look in her eyes that Dean had never seen in someone that age.

“I’ll be right back,” Sam said. He ran out of the cellar, into the house and Emily’s room and grabbed a dress for her. Then he ran back to where Dean and Emily were. “Here,” he said handing it to her. She took the dress and stared at them.

“Let me help,” Dean said simply. She wasn’t strong enough to stand on her own so it made putting the dress on very difficult. Dean held her up as she slipped the small white dress on. It was a bit big for her and hung off her shoulder but at least she was covered up. Dean continued to hold her up as he tied the dress behind her. “There ya go,” he said as she sat down. Emily had huge innocent brown eyes and milky white skin. She had long brown hair that tended to fall in her face. “I’m Dean,” he said simply. “This… this is my brother Sam. Are… are you Emily Reynolds?”

Emily looked from one of the boys to the other. Finally she nodded. “Em… Emi… Emily,” she whispered. Her voice was hoarse and barely even audible. Dean smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear, getting it out of her face.

“Hi Emily,” He said with a smile. “Can you tell us what happened?”

“Sle… sleep,” she whispered hugging her knees to her chest on the bed. “Da… daddy said it was time… time for sleep,” she whispered looking over at the skeleton. There was a draft down there and it gave her a chill. She shivered a bit and again, Dean wrapped his jacket around her.

Sam led Dean outside of the little room. “What are we going to do,” he asked. “This isn’t our kind of thing anymore.”

“What are you talking about Sam. The girl’s mother dies the same way ours does. Her house mysteriously burns down, twice. She’s in a coma or something for three years and is still in perfect health except she could do with some stretching of her legs. There is no way she could have survived something like that if there were nothing supernatural going on here.” He paused and looked at the frightened child staring at them. “I say we take her to the hotel and figure it out from there.

Sam sighed and nodded reluctantly. Dean sat down next to Emily and looked over at her. “Da… daddy still sleeping,” she said softly.

Dean sighed and looked down for a moment. “Did he hurt you?” She bit her lip and terror filled her eyes. Slowly she nodded. She showed him her arms. They were covered with scars from different things, needles, cuts, cigarette burns. He sighed and shook his head. “Emily,” he said softly. “We’re going to protect you all right? Why would he hurt you?”

“Em… Emily ki… killed mother,” she whispered. “And Andrew.” Dean looked over at Sam. “Emily make the fire come.”

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 12

2006-03-08T22:40:00.000-08:00

Sam stared at the girl with a blank look on his face. Andrea looked back and forth between Sam and Dean. There was a long awkward silence before Dean finally entered the house. Sam followed him. “How long… how long have you lived here,” Sam asked.

“Only about two weeks.” Andrea studied them, mostly Dean, as they entered the living room and sat down. She remained standing, leaning against the archway that led into the room. Everything about the house was the same as Sam’s dream. “You two sure grew up nice,” she said with a smile.

“Excuse me,” Dean asked. He looked at the girl trying to find out if he knew her. He recognized the name vaguely.

“Well I mean it’s only a vague memory but still,” she said softly. “She was still studying Dean. “You were a strange looking kid,” she said with a laugh.

“I’ve heard,” Dean said bitterly. Sam simply smiled. Some aspects of this girl’s personality were the same. Her voice was different though. She had a stronger accent.

“I just mean,” she paused and looked him over again. “Wow,” she said with a smile. “I remember my stepfather speaking very highly of your father. I don’t really remember much about you guys though. I was only about six when I met you. I don’t remember Sam at all, except that he was toddler.” She paused and looked from Sam to Dean. “You, I remember though,” she laughed. “You lit my hair on fire, twice.”

Dean smiled as he finally remembered who this girl was. “Oh yeah,” he laughed. “That was you.” Rea simply smiled and nodded. “If I remember correctly, you deserved it,” Dean said with a nod.

“I most certainly did not,” Rea said, sounding offended. “I hardly think stealing your clothes while you were taking a bath and hanging them from the flagpole outside my stepfather’s office warranted you lighting my hair on fire.”

“You stole my clothes,” Dean asked. “You said Sammy stole them.”

“Oh please Dean, Sam was what, two, three? You actually believed me?” She laughed when she saw Dean blush. Sam just stared blankly between the two of them.

“So do know anything about these kids that they found,” Sam interrupted.

Andrea looked over at him. “I heard something a few nights ago but figured it was the wind or something. Other than that, I don’t know much more than you. Have you gotten a chance to look at the writings in there,” she asked eagerly.

“I was just about to ask you that. We’ve only seen a few pictures.” At that Dean looked over at Sam with a confused look on his face. “Isn’t it just the same thing repeated?”

Andrea stared at him. “No,” she said simply. “What would make you think that? It’s a warning written in Gaelic,” she said matter-of-factly. “Beware all who enter my domain. My wrath will be swift and painful. All who enter will meet their end.” Sam looked thoroughly confused. “What,” she asked softly. Sam simply shook his head. “Do you want to take a look for yourselves while there’s still a bit of light?”

“Do you honestly believe these vampire stories,” Dean asked.

“You’re dumber than you look,” Rea said with a laugh. “I grew up in Ireland, a place full of stories and tales. Not to mention, I grew up on the stories your father told mine,” she said simply. Dean smiled and nodded. “Well,” she asked impatiently. She sounded so eager to go. Dean found it impossible to turn her down.

They walked out to the car. Dean pulled a shotgun out of the trunk and handed it to Rea. “You know how to use this,” he asked.

Rea turned to him and cocked the gun. She smiled and pulled the trigger. The gun, loaded with rock salt, shot a tree that was behind Dean, just above his shoulder. “You tell me,” she asked with a smile. Then Sam and Rea both began for the cemetery.

Dean ran to catch up with them. “You’re insane. Has anyone ever told you that,” Dean shouted as the trio walked towards the Wilkes Mausoleum.

“Oh and you’re just buckets of normal,” she said sarcastically. “Lighting a girl’s hair on fire.”

“Stealing a kid’s clothes and hanging them from the flagpole of a law office,” Dean said bitterly.

“Putting hot sauce in my chocolate milk,’ Rea added.

“Only because you did,” Dean snapped.

“I only did that because you ate all my birthday candy!”

“I see now what Dad decided to separate you two,” Sam said with a laugh.

“Shut up Sammy,” Dean and Rea said in unison.

“Its Sam,” he corrected them bitterly.

“Whatever,” Rea said with a laugh.

The trio entered the mausoleum. “I got a bad feeling about this,” Sam said softly.

“You have a bad feeling about everything Sam,” Dean commented. Not more than a second after the words left Dean’s mouth the doors to the crypt slammed shut and it was pitch black. “Have I mentioned that I hate your bad feelings Sam,” Dena asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Rea are you all right?” There was no answer. “REA!” Dean shouted only to hear his own voice echoing off the walls.

Andrea had been pulled into a separate room. It was lit by candles and furnished with 17th century furniture. Rea looked around and finally noticed the woman standing in front of her. The woman looked no older than Rea. She had long, thick, wavy brown hair and icy blue eyes. This strange pale woman stood a couple inches taller than Rea. “You did not heed my warning child,” she whispered. Her voice held the singsong quality of a heavy Irish accent. The woman stopped and studied Rea. “I must tell you I was disappointed to learn you were not a man. However, I do thank you for bringing me such handsome men. The young one, he has power I haven’t felt in ages.”

“Believe me, you don’t want them,” Rea said. “One’s whiney and the other’s an idiot.”

The woman simply laughed. “You should not lie to me child,” she said simply. She walked up to Rea and looked into the girl’s eyes. “I cannot kill you as I had hoped. You are lucky. You live today; tomorrow I may be less forgiving.” The woman smiled and the candles went out making the room void of light. Rea felt something push her and she fell backwards. Then she felt her head meet the concrete.

“Rea,” she heard a familiar voice say. Rea stood slowly. She could feel warm blood flow down her face. “Rea are you all right?”

“I think so,” she said softly. Rea latched onto the arms that held her up.

“Sammy, let’s get out of here,” Dean shouted holding Rea. “I think we’ve explored enough.” There was no answer. “Sammy!”

“This way,” Sam whispered taking his brother’s arm. Sam led them out of the mausoleum. The sun was still up and there was plenty of light.

Dean noticed the blood on Rea’s head. “You and the floor have a disagreement?” he asked. “I take it the floor won that round.”

“Something like that,” she answered. Rea looked over at Dean questioningly when she saw him wince. “What’s wrong,” she asked.

“Nothing,” Dean lied. He had suddenly felt a quick, sharp pain shoot through his chest and the down his left arm. It was similar to what he felt in the hospital only a week or so earlier. He didn’t want to worry Sam though so he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to admit to himself that something may still be wrong with his heart.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 11

2006-03-06T19:19:00.000-08:00

Sam sat straight up in his bed in a cold sweat. He looked around to figure out where he was. They were in a hotel room. It was the same hotel room they had been in for three days. They stopped at the little hotel in Kentucky a couple days after leaving Nebraska and Dean’s near death experience behind. Sam looked over at Dean who was asleep. He sighed and lay back down. That had been so real, even his breathing was heavy. He looked over at Dean again then turned and stared up at the ceiling. He drifted back to sleep after a while though.

“Wake up sunshine,” Dean said giving his brother a shove. Sam opened his eyes slowly and sat up. “We gotta get goin,” he said simply. “We’ve been here long enough.”

“What time is it,” Sam asked groggily.

“About a quarter after six. We’re heading to PA though and I want to get there ASAP,” Dean said simply, packing up his things.

Sam got up and began putting his clothes back in his bag and getting his stuff together. “Why Pennsylvania,” he asked, trying to hide his nervousness. “What’s there?”

Dean paused and looked over at his brother. “I don’t know yet,” Dean said simply. “I got an email from a friend of Dad’s that said we should check it out. I was going to tell you more in the car when you’re actually conscious.”

“Oh,” Sam said vaguely. He finished putting his stuff away and they threw everything in the back of Dean’s Impala. Then they got in and Dean tore out of the hotel parking lot.

“All right,” he said turning down the radio a bit so they could talk. “Here’s the thing. I got an email from one of Dad’s friends that said an old associate of his had died and they had an estate in some small farm town in Pennsylvania. There are some urban legends tied to the house and stuff. I looked online to find something while you were getting your much needed beauty sleep last night.”

“Did you find anything,” Sam asked almost bitterly.

Dean smiled and let out a small laugh. “Four kids went missing a week ago,” he said simply. “They found the bodies of three of them Tuesday.” Sam just stared at Dean. “What,” Dean asked simply. “Anyways, so he said that this chick from Ireland inherited the house. I thought maybe we could go check it out. Maybe a lead to find Dad?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sam said simply.

“Why the hell not,” Dean asked curiously. “What’s wrong with you today Sam?”

“Nothing,” Sam answered defensively. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t think its our kind of thing.”

“That’s a load of crap Sam,” Dean said quickly. “You know this is our kind of thing. What? You have a problem with Saratoga Pennsylvania?”

“No,” Sam shouted. “Its just… I just don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Well I’m going unless you give me a damn good reason not to. I’m not gonna do this fight again Sam,” Dean shouted to his brother as he pulled the car over on the side of the road.

“Its nothing,” Sam said with a sigh. “I just have a bad feeling about it all right.”

Dean sighed and turned to his brother. “Sammy,” he said very seriously. “That’s what we do, chase down our bad feelings and beat the crap out of them.”

Sam sighed and lowered his head. Dean was right. Maybe that dream would help them solve whatever was wrong in Saratoga. “Fine,” Sam said reluctantly. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared out the window silently as Dean pulled back onto the road and they headed for Saratoga Pennsylvania.

It took them two days to get there. The brothers pulled up to a small hotel there, the only one in town. Everything, every detail was exactly like Sam has seen. There was just one huge difference. Dean said that Emma’s, if that was actually her name, stepfather was an old associate of their father’s.

Dean walked up to a young woman, probably the same age as Sam, that was standing behind the counter in the hotel lobby. “Hi,” he said flashing a charming smile that made the girl blush. “I was wondering if you could tell us if anyone’s living at the Wilkes’ mansion,” he asked leaning on the counter. Sam stood behind him looking around. He was waiting for the woman to say no one lived there.

“Well you could ask Andréa,” she said cheerfully. “Andréa… umm… Brennan I think. Anyway, you should ask her about the place,” she said with a smile as she stared at Dean. “She lives there.”

“She what,” Sam said turning around instantly. He stared at the girl. Dean turned to Sam and raised his eyebrow with a questioning look.

“You ok there, Sam,” Dean asked with a small laugh.

Sam looked over and Dean. He lowered his head and sighed. “Fine,” he said softly. “What… what did you say her name was again?”

“Andréa,” the girl said softly. “Andréa Brennan,” she said still smiling at Dean.

Sam nodded and headed out the door. “Let’s go Dean,” he said quickly.

Dean looked at the girl and smiled. “You got a name,” he asked.

“DEAN,” Sam shouted.

Dean looked towards Sam. “I’m comin,” he shouted back to his brother. Dean smiled and nodded towards the girl before he turned to follow his brother. He caught up with Sam as they got in the car. “What the hell is your problem Sam,” Dean asked coldly.

“No one knew anyone was there,” Sam said quickly. “And her name wasn’t Andréa it was Emma,” he said firmly.

“What,” Dean asked before started the car.

“I had another dream the other night,” Sam said after a long silence. “This place, that house, the story. Its complicated but it ended with both of us dead, and Dad too,” he said quietly.

“That’s insane Sam,” Dean said instinctively. “Let’s just go talk to this girl and see what she knows all right?”

Sam sighed after a while and nodded then the two headed towards the large mansion they had seen when they entered the town. They drove passed the cemetery as they drove up the driveway. Dean looked over at it. “Creepy enough in the day time,” he said simply. They stopped in front of the house and got out of the car. “So what’s our cover,” he asked. “FBI?”

“She won’t by it,” he said simply.

“Would you stop bein’ so pessimistic.” Sam just shrugged and shook his head. “So what, we just tell her…”

“We tell her who we are,” Sam said quietly. Maybe things were a little different. Maybe it was just a dream. “We tell her who we are because she might know Dad,” he said simply.

“And what if she doesn’t,” Dean asked. “We just go with it and hope she doesn’t think we’re crazy?”

“Pretty much,” Sam answered. Dean looked at him then back at the house. “Let’s go,” he said with a sigh. The two of them walked up and knocked on the door. The girl that opened it was the exact same girl that Sam had seen. His heart stopped for a moment. He looked over at Dean as he smirked at the girl. “Hi,” he said charmingly. “I’m Dean Winchester,” he said with a smile. “That’s my brother-”

“Sam,” she said with a smile. “Wow,” she said looking back and forth between the two of them. Her Irish accent was as strong as ever. “I’ve… I’ve heard a lot about you, come on in.”

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 10

2006-03-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

Emma was completely taken by surprise when Dean took her arm. He was forceful and his voice held anger that bordered on hatred. Emma struggled to keep up with him as he dragged her through the Saratoga streets. People stared, but at this point Dean didn’t care. There was only one thing on his mind, finding Sam. “Sam,” he called out as he headed towards the hotel. “Sammy!” Still no one answered him. Dean stopped and pulled Emma close to him. “If he’s dead I guarantee you you’ll be joining him and I promise you it will be a thousand times more painful,” Dean said through gritted teeth as he stared into her eyes.

Tears streamed down, staining Emma’s face. Her body trembled as she longed for Dean’s calm, safe touch, anything but the fiery hatred she felt from him now. “Dean I-”

“Shut up,” he said cutting her off. It killed him to treat her like that but he had to believe it if he wanted others to, and he needed Emma to believe it too. “Sammy answer me damn it,” Dean shouted. The only response he got was the whispers of the on-lookers. Dean dragged Emma to the hotel. The Impala was still sitting, untouched, where he had left it. Dean threw open the door to the hotel room and threw Emma inside before entering. “Sammy,” he shouted almost frantically. “SAM!”

Emma watched him from the floor. She saw the fear in his eyes. Emma’s eyes slowly moved upward, to the ceiling and didn’t move. “Dean,” she whispered.

“I told you to-” he began as he turned to face her. He stopped when he saw Emma’s eyes fixated on the ceiling. His heart raced. Dean was afraid to look up. He finally did though and his fears were realized. Though there was something off about it all, just as there had been with his father. On the ceiling, only a few feet from Dean’s head, was Sam. However, unlike his mother and Jessica, there was no blood. Sam was bruised and beaten, which told Dean he had put up a fight, but there were no large wounds. The other critical difference was that, not only was Sam alive, but conscious. “Sammy,” Dean said quickly. He was reluctant to move, almost waiting for the flames to engulf his brother and burn away all that was left of his family. There was nothing though. When Dean realized this he climbed on the bed and tried to find a way to get Sam down.

“Do not move,” a commanding and familiar voice called from the shadows. The door to the room slammed shut and the blinds closed, darkening the room instantly. Dean found himself obeying the voice without a second thought. He stopped, turned towards the voice, and stepped off the bed. “You move closer to either of them and your worst fears will become reality Dean Winchester.” Natasha appeared from the shadow. She looked down at Emma, who stood slowly.

“Let him go. Your quarrel is not with my brother or me, its with her.” Dean walked up behind Emma and grabbed her by her arms. “Take her,” he screamed in a broken desperate voice. “Take her, she’s yours, just let Sam and I go. We’ll leave and let you have your vengeance!”

Natasha smiled. “You wouldn’t really give the one you love just for your brother’s pathetic life would you?”

Dean stared straight into her eyes. His conviction was unwavering. “Try me.”

Natasha’s smile widened. “I don’t believe you.” She laughed a little as Sam began to scream.

Dean threw Emma at Natasha’s feet.

“Dean what are you-”

“Silence boy,” Natasha said fiercely, turning her eyes towards Sam. Sam screamed in agony. He felt as though he was burning from the inside out.

Dean turned his attention to Sam. “Let him go, you have the girl just let him go!”

The moment Natasha grabbed Emma’s arm and pulled her to her feet, Sam fell onto the bed. Dean ran to his side and rolled Sam onto his back. “Dean,” Sam whispered weakly.

“This quarrel does not involve you Dean,” Natasha said with a smile. “But I have been around for along time and made many enemies. Vengeance does involve you child,” she said with a laugh. “It wasn’t as immediate and if you have just obeyed me, maybe I would have spared you. You did not heed my commands however. I told you not to get any closer to either of them.”

“You’ve let your brother taint you Dean,” another painfully familiar voice said from the shadows. The brothers stared unbelieving as John Winchester stepped out of the shadow and stood next to Natasha. “You used to be so loyal, so obedient Dean. You were a soldier, exactly what you needed to be. I thought I could trust you on your own. You’ve disappointed me Dean.”

Dean stood and stepped away from Sam. “Dad, I’m sorry,” he said quickly.

“I understand son,” he said calmly. “Right now you need to listen to me. She is trying to help you; you just can’t see it. Dean you have to destroy what it seeks. That’s the only way to save us, to save Emma.”

“Fine,” Dean said quickly. “Tell me what it is and its as good as gone.” There was silence as John’s eyes traveled to the weak boy lying on the bed. Dean’s eyes followed his father’s. “But… but you told me to protect him, to keep him safe. You said it was my job, my only job.”
“I didn’t know the things I know now Dean,” his father said softly.

Dean looked from Sam back to his father then back to Sam. H didn’t even notice Natasha and Emma were gone. “Dad I can’t,” his voice drifted away as he felt his father place a dagger in his hand. He looked down at it, then back at Sam. Sam looked terrified. He kept trying to speak but no sound came out. “I can’t kill Sam,” Dean said shaking his head.

“That’s an order Dean,” his father shouted. “Do not disappoint me again!”

At that Dean’s expression hardened, he stood straight and tightened his grip on the knife. Then he walked over and stood next to Sam. A few tears fell from Sam’s eyes, as Dean got closer. Dean looked down at him and raised the dagger. His hand trembled and a single tear fell from his eye.

Do me a favor Sammy,” Dean said quietly, in a broken voice. “Say hi to Mom and Jess for me.” Sam simply nodded as he realized there was nothing he could do to stop it now. Dean raised the dagger and passed for just a moment as his eyes met his baby brother’s. Then with all his strength Dean plunged the dagger into Sam’s chest, going straight through Sam’s heart. Blood covered Dean’s hands as he fell to his knees. He looked around and he was alone. He saw the bloody, lifeless body of his little brother and broke down. He took Sam’s hand and buried his head on the bed. Dean’s entire body quaked as he cried. Then he felt a soft hand rest on his shoulder. He turned and looked up at Emma knelt in front of him.

She placed her hand gently on Dean’s cheek and wiped away his tears with her thumb. “Shh,” she whispered soothingly. He opened his mouth to speak but Emma placed two fingers over his lips to silence him. “I know it hurts Dean,” she whispered as she cupped his face in her hands and pulled him close. She kissed him passionately and for a split second his pain went away. Emma pulled away and looked into Dean’s eyes. “You were only doing what your father told you, like a good little boy,” she said softly. She kissed his lips lightly once more.

“I can make the pain go away Dean,” Emma whispered in his ear. She kissed his neck softly. Dean stared at her and ran his fingers through her hair. She leaned back and looking into his beautiful, broken, hazel eyes. Emma leaned forward and kissed his lips once more. She felt tears on his face. “Do not be sad Dean,” she whispered. “It will be over soon.” She kissed his neck once more. Suddenly Dean felt a sharp pain and moments later everything went black.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 9

2006-02-27T22:18:00.000-08:00

Emma and Dean both looked up at Sam as they heard objects in the room vibrate. There was a hint of fear in Dean’s eyes as he looked at his little brother. There was something dark in the Sam’s eyes, something far beyond anger. “Sammy,” he said slowly. His brother didn’t answer and Dean began to worry more. “Sammy,” he said again. Still there was no response from the younger Winchester. Dean looked down at Emma before standing and walking over to his brother. He caught sight of the body and gagged once more. It was unbearable to look at but Dean had to be the strong one. He was all that was left to take care of Sam, he couldn’t break down now.

Dean knelt down in front of his brother and took hold of his shoulders. “Sammy,” he said shaking his brother. Sam continued to stare at the body behind Dean. “Sammy,” Dean shouted. The shaking in the room continued and grew more violent. Objects began to fall from the shelves they were on and shatter on the floor. Dean looked around and back at Sam. Was Sam doing all this? “Sammy,” he shouted shaking his brother once more.

Finally, Sam looked up at his brother. The shaking stopped and a single tear fell from Sam’s right eye. “Dean,” he whispered in a broken voice. “D... Dean,” he said beginning to tremble in his brother’s arms. Emma curled up in the corner and hugged her knees to her chest. She couldn’t get the sight out of her mind. The fear in John’s eyes, the blood on the ground, the fire that engulfed him, it would be etched in her memory for the rest of her life. Dean looked into Sam’s eyes. He tried to think of a way to help his little brother but he couldn’t think of anything. “Da… dad too,” Sam whispered.

“Sammy,” he said hugging his brother, something he didn’t do often but he thought the situation warranted it. “Sammy, don’t worry,” Dean added. He tried to remain strong. “That bitch is gonna die Sam,” Dean said strongly. “I’ll make damn sure of that.” Sam nodded slowly. He reminded Dean so much of when they were little. Sam would have a bad dream and after he woke up, he always had a headache. Dean would see it in Sam’s eyes; he knew it was the same. “Sammy,” Dean asked, “Tell me exactly what you saw back there.”

Sam looked down for a moment, trying to remember. “I… I saw Emma walking… walking down the steps,” he said softly. “She… she walked over there,” Sam said, pointing to the room off to the left. “Then… then someone came from behind her and slammed her against the wall. I… I didn’t see who or what… but-”

“Him,” Emma whispered pointing to the scorched corpse of their father. “It… It was him,” she whispered. “He… he said I was in… I was in trouble,” she whispered lowering her head. “I got too close. He… he asked where you were,” she said looking up at Dean. “If… if you were all right, how… how your heart was.”

“My heart,” Dean said a bit confused.

“I… I called him,” Sam said after a long silence. “When you were in the hospital I called Dad and told him.”

“Oh,” Dean answered with a nod.

“Then… he… he said that I have to leave. That’s… that’s when she showed up, Natasha.” There were tears in Emma’s eyes as she spoke. “She said you two shouldn’t have… have interfered.” Emma hugged her knees closer to her chest and lowered her head. “She said that you would pay. Then… then she was in front of him. It… it was just one… one swift movement. A… blade across his throat and he was gone. He didn’t fall though, he didn’t fall.” Emma shut her eyes tightly and tried to get the image out of her mind. This time Sam moved instead of Dean. He knelt in front of Emma and placed his hands comforting on her shoulder. Emma looked up at him and their eyes met once more. “She… she turned back towards the shadows,” she said softly, afraid to look anywhere but Sam’s eyes. “All she did was nod and the fire started.”

“What,” Dean said standing up quickly. The sudden realization that this thing had truly taken everything that Dean had away from him was overwhelming. He looked down at his little brother. They really were all each other had now.

Emma bit her lip and lowered her head, curling up in Sam’s arms. Under normal circumstances, Dean might get jealous at this, but he understood. They had both witnessed it. Part of him wished he had, so he would understand what his brother and Emma were going through. He knew that thought was stupid though. He leaned against the railing of the stairs and watched the two of them. There was a silent communication between Sam and Emma. “It’s… its my-”

“No its not,” Sam said quickly. He didn’t want her to blame herself for this. She didn’t know it would happen. There had always been a risk in the Winchesters’ lives. This wasn’t Emma’s fault, or at least that was what Sam was telling himself to keep calm. Sam wiped the tears from Emma’s eyes and gave her a small smile. “It’s not your fault Emma,” he said firmly. Sam rested his forehead against hers and tucked her hair behind her ear.

Dean watched them and wondered why Emma would see anything in Dean. Sam and she were so alike in experiences. He watched them and for some reason it just seemed right, the two of them close the way they were. He had opened up to her, cared for her. If it weren’t for the fact that Dean had never felt like this with anyone else he could gladly give her up to Sam. Emma made it seem like Dean was perfect. He knew he wasn’t but when he was near her he felt like he could do no wrong. When Emma was lying in his arms, he felt complete. If it weren’t for that, Dean would have left Emma for Sam. It seems cruel but it was true. If it were not for the completeness, Dean felt, Emma would have been nothing but a fling.

Emma buried her head in Sam’s chest and he wrapped his arms around her. He looked back at Dean and nodded towards Emma. He was trying to tell his brother to get over there and comfort her. It took a moment for Dean to get it. He pushed himself away from the railing and knelt in front of Emma. “I’m gonna go get the car,” Sam said simply. “Dean,” he said looking down at his brother. “There’s some sort of tunneling system in here I think it would be safer if you take her upstairs, open the windows and such.” Dean nodded and the two of them slowly walked up stairs. Sam stayed behind for a moment and looked down at the body. “I’ll find it Dad,” Sam said through gritted teeth. “I’ll kill it.” With that, Sam walked upstairs and into the living room where Emma and Dean were sitting. “We… we should do something… something with the body,” Sam said reluctantly. Those words caught in Sam’s throat and made him gag. Dean looked up at Sam and nodded slowly. “When… when I get… get back we’ll figure out something.” Dean nodded once more and watched Sam walk out of the house.

Dean looked down at Emma, whose head was buried in his shoulder, and sighed softly. He rested his chin on the top of her head and hugged her tightly. “It’ll be all right Emma,” she said softly. He found it rather ironic that Emma was the most broken over this and she had never met their father. A few tears found their way out of Dean’s eyes but he had to be strong. “We’ll stop this Emma,” he said softly. He lifted her chin to look at him and smiled at her. “I promise you Emma,” he said softly. “We’ll end this.”

Emma lowered her eyes, afraid to look at him. “I shouldn’t have said that,” she said softly. “I shouldn’t have called you a stupid lying son of a bitch,” she whispered. “Or an overprotective, testosterone driven idiot.”

“A what,” Dean said with semi-false insult. Emma just smiled guiltily and bit her lower lip. “I’m assuming you said that while I was unconscious.” She nodded. Dean smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Emma, what happened down there, to our dad wasn’t your fault. That thing has been after our family for years. It was not your fault,” he said again. He smiled and kissed her lips lightly. “And, even though I know my father didn’t know you, I know he wouldn’t want you to blame yourself for what happened to him.”

Emma sighed softly. She curled herself up next to him and rested her head against his chest as he wrapped his arm around her. “He… he said he was proud of you,” she whispered. “He… he told me to tell you both… both of you that he was… he was proud of you,” she whispered. Dean smiled and a few more tears fell from his eyes but he ignored them. “I’m scared Dean,” she whispered.

Dean sighed and held her tight. “You’re going to be fine Emma,” he whispered to her. “You’re safe, don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried about me,” she said softly. “I… I have these dreams.” Dean’s first thought was the dreams that Sam has from time to time. “I… I’m her,” she said softly. “The… the other night I had one and… and I was with Sam.”

“You think she’ll go after Sam next,” he asked looking down at her. She nodded slowly. “Well it won’t happen today, he should have plenty of time to get to the car and drive it back before the sun sets.”

“What if he doesn’t,” Emma asked softly. There was something her eyes that said she knew something he didn’t. “What if it doesn’t matter?” She sighed softly. “You shouldn’t have let him go back Dean. They’ll be waiting for him,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Dean sat up quickly and stood, moving away from her. “What are you talking about Emma?”

“Dean don’t be mad at me please,” she said softly. The look in Emma’s eyes broke Dean’s heart. “They… they’ll be waiting for him there. They’ll be waiting to end it.”

Dean stared at Emma with fear visible in his eyes. “You little bitch, what did you do,” he shouted. Emma simply hugged her knees to her chest. Dean looked around and found his cell phone. He called Sam’s number but Sam didn’t pick up. “Sammy come on,” he whispered. “Shit,” He said throwing down the phone when Sam didn’t pick up. He put his coat on and headed for the door. He stopped and looked at Emma. “I trusted you,” he said softly. He looked at her and shook his head before storming out of the house to find his brother.

“Dean,” she shouted getting up and running after him. She ran down the steps and took his hand, turning him around. “I… I didn’t do anything,” she said softly. “I… I just… I heard it,” she whispered. “Just now I heard it please don’t be angry with me.” There were tears streaming from her eyes. Dean simply pushed her away and continued on his way. “DEAN,” she screamed falling to her knees. She didn’t want to lose the safe feeling she had with Dean. Her heart shattered into a million pieces. She got up and ran after him. “Dean,” she said grabbing his hand again. “Give them me,” she shouted. “That’s all she wants!” Dean stopped and looked at her. He wanted desperately to believe her but he didn’t know if he could trust her again.

“Natasha,” he whispered. Whatever killed his parents and Jessica was attached to Natasha, or at least knew her. “That might work,” he said softly. Dean thought for a moment. It killed their mother when their father was perfectly happy, Jess when Sam’s was happy. It kept taking away the thing that completed them. Why their dad then, unless it really was to punish them for their interference with her revenge. He grabbed her arm and dragged her with him towards the hotel.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 8

2006-02-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

Dean slowly regained consciousness and noticed Emma lying next to him. She had finally fallen asleep. He took a moment to admire her. She had an innocent beauty that had never caught Dean’s eye before. He smiled at the sleeping beauty next to him. His mind quickly turned to thoughts of what would happen to her. He was quickly becoming far too attached to this girl. It was unlike anything Dean had experienced. He was close to Cassie, maybe even loved her, but Emma was something completely new for Dean. He had told Cassie his secret after two weeks together. Emma learned the truth within only hours of meeting the brothers.

Dean’s gaze slowly rose to his brother. Sam was asleep in a chair across the room. Dean smile, Sam was finally sleeping somewhat peacefully. It had been a long time since Dean had seen Sam actually sleep. The sun was beginning to rise and he was getting his strength back slowly. He jumped a little when Emma moved curled up closer to him. Dean smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. Emma’s eyes slowly opened and looked up at him. Their eyes met and for a moment Dean’s mind stopped working. She was breathtakingly beautiful in a very simple way.

She smiled at him and before she could comprehend what was happening she felt Dean’s soft lips press against hers. Emma did the only think she could think of at the time and kissed him back. There was a fire, a burning in her kiss that she didn’t fully understand. She heard a soft moan escape Dean’s lips, obviously surprised by her actions. Dean didn’t fight it though. He turned so he was on his side, facing her. Emma placed her hands on Dean’s bare but bruised and bite mark covered chest. Emma had never felt this way before. It was so much more than the obvious physical desire between the two. Emma felt safe in Dean’s arms. She was safe from pain, her family’s legacy, loneliness, loss, and even death.

She moved closer to him and felt his body just barely touch hers. Emma’s eyes rolled back and closed as Dean’s lips moved to her neck. Her heart was racing as was his as he slid his hands under her shirt. Emma opened her eyes slowly. “Dean,” she whispered breathlessly. “Dean,” she said a bit stronger this time. Her heart pounded in her chest as she slowly shook her head. “Sam,” she whispered.

Dean looked passed her to his little brother. She was right. They needed to stop before the got carried away and couldn’t stop. Dean sighed softly and looked into her eyes. He wasn’t falling for her. He couldn’t be. That just wasn’t like Dean. He had only known Emma a few days. Granted, sleeping with women he had just met wasn’t new to Dean, there was more here. It was more than just a physical attraction. There was something about Emma that made Dean feel whole. That terrified him. His dad had been happy, complete, when his mom died. Sam had been happy when Jess died; Dean didn’t want to lose Emma like that.

Emma saw it in his eyes, fear. “What,” she whispered

Dean didn’t get a chance to answer her. Right after she spoke one of their cell phones rang. Sam bolted up and picked up the phone. He was completely oblivious to the precarious position his brother and Emma were in. “Hello,” he said groggily. Sam’s eyes opened wide, which told Dean exactly who it was. Dean sat up slowly, as did Emma. Sam got up and handed Dean the phone. Emma looked back and forth between the two with a worried and confused expression.

Dad,” Dean said quietly. Emma turned to look at him. “Dad we’re,” he paused as his father interrupted him. “Dad.” Dean sounded as though he was pleading with his father. Finally, he sighed dejectedly. “Yes sir,” he said quietly before hanging up the phone. “Emma get up.” Emma stood slowly and reluctantly. Dean looked up at his younger brother. “We have to leave Dad-”

“What,” the other two said in unison.

“Dad said-”

“I don’t care what Dad said Dean. You can hardly sit up,” Sam shouted.

“Sam,” Dean said angrily. He glanced over at Emma who was fighting back tears. “Emma I’m-”

“Get out,” she said coldly, her lower lip trembling. “Get out now!”

“Emma,” Dean whispered as he slowly stood. Emma took a step back.
“Go,” she said coldly. She was unable to hold back the tears now. “Get out you stupid, lying, son of bitch,” she screamed.

Dean’s heart sank. He turned slowly and picked up his shirt and coat, then headed for the door. The sun was up now and Dean began slowly walking back to the hotel.

The instant Dean left the house Emma fell to her knees and began to cry. Sam sighed and knelt in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her and rocked her back and forth. “Shh,” he whispered. “It’s not your fault, Emma,” He said quietly. “Dean just needs to fix his priorities.” Sam sighed and looked into Emma’s eyes. “Emma I gotta go make sure Dean doesn’t drop dead on the way,” he said softly. Sam stood slowly and ran after Dean. He didn’t want to leave her like that but Dean was in no shape to walk that far. “Dean,” Sam called after his brother. He managed to get to Dean just in time to catch him. “Whoa,” he said has his brother fell into his arms. Sam slowly lowered Dean so he was sitting on the ground. “I told you Dean, you aren’t in any condition to go anywhere.” Sam sighed. “Dena I know you want to listen to Dad. I understand Dad needs us but Dean, she needs you more,” Sam told him.

“Get the car,” Dean said coldly.

“No,” Sam answered. A sudden sharp pain shot through Sam’s head and he let go of his brother. He saw small flashes of something. Emma was walking down the steps to her basement. She walked down the stairs and into the room that had all the papers. Suddenly a man pushed her against the wall and that’s all Sam saw. He was torn. He couldn’t leave Dean but at the same time he couldn’t let Emma get hurt.

Dean looked over at him. “What,” Dean asked worriedly.

“Emma,” Sam said before he stood and sprinted back to Emma’s house. He ran through the door and looked in the living room. “Emma,” Sam shouted. There was no answer. Sam ran down into the basement and stopped dead. Natasha was holding Emma against the basement wall. That’s not what horrified Sam though. Sam vaguely heard someone enter the house. He heard Dean call his name but didn’t answer. Dean slowly walked down and stopped behind Sam. What Dean saw made him turn and throw-up.

Lying on the ground in a pool of blood was their father. It wasn’t just that though. There was a look of pure horror on John’s face and he seemed badly burned. Dean couldn’t fight back the tears, though he tried. Sam on the other hand completely broke down and fell to his knees. Natasha took her attention off Emma and turned to the boys. She smiled at them. “You should not have crossed me,” she said simply. “I wanted her life, her blood, my vengeance, and nothing more. Then you two had to interfere. You had to be punished.” She made it seem as though her actions were completely justified.

Dean turned his gaze from his father to Emma. He was responsible. He should have been strong and disregarded his father’s words for once. Emma’s eyes were full of sadness. “Now is not her time yet,” Natasha said simply. “You have not suffered enough.” She let go of Emma and disappeared. Dean did his back to run over to Emma and held her in his arms. She kept telling him she was sorry. Dean comforted her and looked over at his little brother. Sam stared brokenly at the body as the room began to shake.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 7

2006-02-22T16:59:00.000-08:00

Sam paced around the room for what seemed like hours. Emma glanced up at him every so often but her focus remained mostly on Dean. He was very pale and barely breathing. Emma began to worry about Sam though. He hadn’t slept much, definitely less than her and Dean. “Sammy,” she called very much as his brother did. Sam stopped pacing and looked over at her. “You need to get some sleep Sammy.” He looked over at her like a child pleading to stay up passed his bedtime. “Sam you’re not doin’ him any good pacing like that and you sure has hell won’t do him any good if you’re exhausted. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Sam knew she was right. He didn’t want to admit it but he knew. Sam sighed and lowered his head. “He wouldn’t take his eyes off me,” Sam told her looking over at his brother.

“Well your brother’s an overprotective, testosterone driven idiot,” she answered coldly. There was definite anger in her voice but unmistakable overwhelming fear in her eyes. “Get some sleep. My room’s upstairs go,” she said firmly.

Sam reluctantly obeyed and was asleep almost before he got to her room. Emma waited until Sam was upstairs before breaking down. A lot of stuff had happened between Dean and her the night before. She told him things she had never told anyone before, things about her boyfriend, her dreams. The two had confided in each other. Now, the closest things she had to a friend lay on the couch on the brink of death. A single tear fell from Emma’s right eye and landed on Dean’s forehead. She shut her eyes tightly to keep from crying.

Emma carefully climbed over Dean and walked into the kitchen. She got herself a glass of water and leaned against the sink. After a few hours, Emma thought she heard a faint voice. She ran back into the living room. “Sammy,” Dean whispered weakly.

Emma walked over to his side and sat next to him on the couch. She unconsciously took Dean’s hand. “He’s asleep Dean,” she whispered. “Do you want me to go get him?”

Dean shook his head slowly and opened his eyes. Emma looked down into his hazel eyes. There was fear in them, he didn’t want to show it but Emma could see it. “I feel like crap,” he muttered.

“You look worse,” she said with a smile. “Pale and sickly covered in bruises doesn’t really look good on you Winchester,” she said with a laugh. “Sammy’s been worried sick,” Emma stated, serious once more. “You should have seen him pacing. Finally, I told him to go get some sleep. He really needed it.

“I’m sure,” Dean said with a small laugh. He winced in pain as he did and groaned. “Sam’s never slept real well, at least not since Jess,” he said simply. “He has nightmares a lot.” Emma looked down for a moment, thinking about her own horrifying dreams.

“You’ll be fine,” she said with a smile. “The only thing I’m worried about is scarring,” she said looking down at his bare chest. “I mean, that looks good what happens if you have little scars all over your chest.” She shook her head and smiled at him. “You should be lucky to have a brother like him,” Emma said simply. “And he, you.”

Emma never had any siblings. That is why Sam and Dean’s relationship was so amusing to Emma. Dean smiled at her and finally noticed her hold his hand. When she wasn’t looking he glanced down and his smile widened. He squeezed her hand gently and she looked down, smiling. “You’re gonna be fine Dean,” Emma said softly. She was trying to convince herself more than to convince Dean. Her hand trembled as she held his.

He glanced down then back at her and slowly sat up. He winced as he did but pretended to be touch. It made Emma laugh a bit. Dean smiled at her and placed his hand on her face, lacing his fingers in her hair. “Don’t worry Emma,” he whispered. “It’s not your fault.” He knew that’s what she was thinking. He knew about her dreams, the dreams where she was a killer. The things she had done in her dreams almost made Dean sick. She wasn’t Emma in her dreams though, she was Natasha.

Emma bit her lower lip and rested her forehead against Dean’s. Tears fell from her eyes. “Yes it is,” she said softly. “I shouldn’t have come back,” she whispered. “I should have stayed in Dublin where I belong. I was such a fool to come here.”

“Emma,” Dean said firmly. “The kids didn’t go missing because of you,” he whispered softly. “Sam and I aren’t here investigating you, well now we are but that’s not why we decided to stay. We stayed to find those kids. This isn’t your fault,” he whispered looking into her eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her lips lightly.

She tried not to cry as he kissed her. When he pulled away, she looked into his eyes, biting her lower lip once more. “I should just let her have me,” she said brokenly. “She’ll be done with her revenge and no more people will get hurt,” she whispered with tears in her eyes.

“No way in hell I’d let you do that,” Dean said quickly. “She might turn you and I’m not having you hurt Sammy.” Emma was a little disappointed. She understood Dean’s concern for his brother, but she had hoped he had said that because he cared about her. “Emma,” he said lifting her head to look at her. “Nothing’s going to happen to you,” he whispered. Emma noticed his eyes become more distant. He was still very weak.

Emma gently pushed him back down on the couch. “You need to rest,” she said softly. She stared at him for a moment before beginning to get up.

Dean grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. “Sam’s in your room,” he asked. Emma nodded but looked confused. “There’s room for two,” he said softly. There was something in his voice. This wasn’t just a line so he could sleep with her. He sounded like a frightened child that was afraid to sleep by itself. Emma smiled at her and curled up next to Dean on the couch, her head resting gently on his chest. She singing a song she had stuck in her head softly, “Alcohol” by Brad Paisley. “No way,” Dean said quickly. “You can get off if you’re gonna torture me with that.” Emma looked down at him, smiled slyly, and continued to hum, just to annoy him.

Emma dreamed again that night. This time it was different though, it wasn’t centuries ago. She was standing in the house, in her room and Sam lay on the bed, sleeping. She walked over to him slowly and sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. She ran her fingers through his hair gently and blew on his ear. “Sammy,” she whispered running her finger along his neck. Sam slowly opened his eyes. He seemed surprised by what he saw. ‘Emma’ simply smiled and ran her fingers gently over Sam’s lips. She leaned down and kissed him softly. Sam couldn’t resist. He kissed her back and placed one of his hands behind her head, pulling her closer. Her kisses slowly traveled down his neck. “What would you do for me Sammy,” she whispered in his ear.

“Anything,” Sam whispered breathlessly. His eyes rolled back in his head and he watched her with interest.

‘Emma’ smiled and suddenly she sank her teeth into Sam’s neck. At that precise moment both Emma and Sam sat straight up, no longer dreaming. Emma stood quickly, ran up the stairs, and actually met Sam half way. “Sammy,” she whispered staring at him.

“Emma,” he said seeming just as surprised. He looked at her; he knew that pale, sweaty look anywhere. He wore the same one. “Did you,” he asked and she nodded. They had the same dream. The two stared at each other for a moment before they heard Dean scream and they ran down stairs. Emma sat next to Dean and took his hand.

“Dean,” she called to him, hoping he’d wake up. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked up into her. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked over at Sam. “Dean what happened,” she asked softly.

“Nothing,” he said quickly. He had the same dream about their mother again. Dean looked over at Sam. He could never hurt Sammy, not even if their father had told him to. That’s where Dean drew the line with his father’s orders. There was no way that Dean could ever hurt his baby brother. He couldn’t kill the one he swore to protect with his life.

“What,” Sam asked when he noticed the way Dean was looking at him. “Dean?”

“I’ts nothing Sammy,” Dean said weakly. He looked up at Emma and smiled before slowly drifting out of consciousness one more time.

“He’s lying,” the two said in unison.

They looked at each other and smiled. “I wonder what he saw,” Emma said softly. Sam just shrugged and sat in the large chair across from them. It wasn’t long before Sam had fallen back asleep. Emma watched him sleep for a while. He was actually sleeping peacefully. Emma smiled as she lay back down next to Dean and curled up close to him.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 6

2006-02-18T19:15:00.000-08:00

Dean left early that morning and headed toward the hotel where they had been staying. He parked his baby behind the hotel and made sure that it was hard to find. Then he went into the hotel room to get his dad’s journal and their laptop, it might come in handy later. He put it into one of the duffle bags along with some other weapons and means of defense, just in case. The car would be far away and if they needed to fight something, they needed supplies. He then sighed and looked around the room before dropping the bag on the floor and falling back on the bed. He fell sleep for a couple hours.

When Dean woke up a few hours later, he decided to go ask around town about the stories. He stopped at the diner first since everyone seemed to congregate there. Over the course of the next several hours, he asked everyone he saw about the vampire stories and what they thought. He was sure he had asked the entire town by then. Dean even found himself in the library looking up the history of Emma’s house. He didn’t find out anything more than he already knew. The citizens of Saratoga were less than helpful as well. He sighed; feeling quite defeated and left the library. It was getting late and he had to get back to Emma’s before Sam got worried.

He was running a bit late but he didn’t think much of it. The sun was setting just as he got to the cemetery. He decided to cut through the cemetery because it was the fastest way to Emma’s house. It was early still so he was sure that they wouldn’t be out. Even if they were, Dean had supplies and was ready for a fight. That’s what he thought anyway. He was half way through the cemetery, just passed the mausoleum. He stopped, hearing something behind him and turned around. There was nothing there. He turned back slowly and when he did, there was a woman in front of him.

“You’re the one he spoke of,” she said simply. There was a melody in her voice. Dean wouldn’t let it shake him though. He would gladly admit that she was the hottest enemy they had come across yet.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said with a shrug and continued on his way.

The woman laughed and seemed to have disappeared, only to reappear in front of Dean. “He was very worried about what you would think,” she said simply. She walked up to Dean and looked into his eyes. She smiled and placed her hand gently on his chest then slowly circled him, looking him over. Dean followed her with his eyes. Her touch was like ice, but he could feel a fire inside him. “You are his brother,” she asked.

Dean nodded slowly as he watched her. He noticed his heart was racing. This couldn’t possibly be a good thing. Did he just nod? Now they know Sam was still there. His heart seemed to stop when he realized that he just sealed his brother’s fate. He tried desperately to move and continue on his way to the house so he could warn Sam, but it was useless. The woman, Natasha, simply smiled at him. “What are you afraid of,” she whispered in his ear. Her voice was like a song. Dean’s eyes rolled back for a moment. His mind turned to the fire and him carrying his crying baby brother out of the house. That baby in his arms was his responsibility. Dean knew it’s what his mother would want. Then he saw something that he knew wasn’t a memory. He opened his eyes and looked over at Natasha. He had seen his brother lying on the ground covered in blood. His skin was dead white. Dean’s breathing was now very heavy and his heart was racing.

“Do not be afraid Dean,” she whispered with a smile. “I can protect him. He will be safe with me.”

“No way,” Dean said instantly. He may be distracted by her beauty and obvious power but he would never just hand Sam to her.

She smiled at him and placed her hand on his face and Dean closed his eyes. Dean felt Natasha’s lips lightly touch his. Stop. Dean stop her what’s wrong with you, he thought. However, he did just the opposite. Dean found himself leaning into her kiss. He dropped the bag he had brought with him and cupped her face in his hands as he kissed her. He didn’t notice his feet moving, leaving the bag behind. He was following her into the mausoleum. Natasha ran her hands down Dean’s chest and pulled at his shirt.

He finally backed off when he noticed he was inside the mausoleum. The doors slammed shut. “Shit,” he whispered. He turned to leave but Natasha pulled him back and sank her teeth into his neck. Dean clenched his mouth shut to keep from screaming as he felt his blood leave his body. It only got worse though. Moments later he felt something tear at his leg, he looked down and saw the figure of another man there. He couldn’t hold back the screaming as he felt more biting. He noticed Natasha stood and smiled at him. There were at least eight others surrounding him. He felt himself becoming weaker, drifting in and out of consciousness. He watched Natasha disappear in the mausoleum.

Relief swelled when Dean vaguely heard the sounds of bickering. They were fighting over him. Soon it turned into fistfights. Now was Dean’s chance. He pushed them off with what little strength he had and made a break for the door. Dean had always been amazingly strong; it came from years of hunting. He through the mausoleum doors open and ran for Emma’s house. He didn’t get very far before he felt someone tackle him. He felt teeth sink into his chest once more and he screamed, pushing the man off him with all his strength. Dean looked over and noticed his shotgun on the ground next to him. He grabbed it and slammed it against the vampire’s head. Then he stood and ran for the house again.

He noticed he got to the door and fell to his knees. He lifted his arms several times to knock on the door but nothing happened. He didn’t know how much longer he could stay conscious. He couldn’t go, he had to protect Sammy. He had to. That was the only thing keeping him open. He finally managed to knock lightly on the door. When the door opened, he saw Emma and swore he was looking on the face of an angel. He fell forward and his world went black. He could feel his brother pick him up and lay him on the couch. Vaguely, he heard the two of them talking. Emma told Sam to be careful. Why? The thought that he might turn hadn’t occurred to him until that moment. Dean was terrified now that he would. He couldn’t hurt Sammy. He would rather die. Dean managed to gain the strength to open his eyes. He wanted to tell Sam, to tell him if Dean turned, Sam had to kill him. He wouldn’t let himself hurt Sam. He wanted to tell all of this and more to his baby brother but he couldn’t move. He just looked up into his brother’s devastated eyes. He tried to lift his arm to comfort his brother but he couldn’t. Dean was not conscious long. Seconds later his world became, not only black, but also silent.

He thought he could hear faint whispers, a woman’s voice, a woman’s song. It reminded him of the lullabies his mother would sing to him when he was little. He wanted to call out to his mother but he couldn’t. Then he saw her. He was in Sammy’s nursery. She was standing over his crib. Dean walked up behind her, knowing what he was seeing wasn’t real. He stood behind her silent and just watched her. “How could you Dean,” she asked with tears in her eyes. She looked back at him. Her eyes were red from crying. Dean looked confused. “He’s your brother. You’re supposed to protect your brother.” Worry enveloped Dean as he took a few steps toward Sammy’s crib. He stopped when he saw the inside. There was blood everywhere, but no one was in the crib.

“W…. where’s Sammy mom,” he asked quietly. His words were like a child’s but his voice was his own. “Mom,” he said, his voice beginning to crack. “Where’s Sammy?”

Mary turned toward her oldest son and placed her hand gently on his face to comfort him. “I’m sorry Dean,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Where’s Sammy mom,” he asked again, staring into his mother’s eyes. He noticed his lower lips trembling. It always did that when he was really upset or scared.

“Sammy’s gone Dean,” she whispered. He stared at her terrified now. “Don’t you remember Dean,” she asked. “You killed him.”

“No,” he whispered taking a step back.

“Yes, Dean. But its all right, I’m not angry with you.” She smiled at him and kissed her son’s forehead. “You were only doing what your father told you,” she said simply. “Like a good little boy.” She smiled at him. Dean was terrified as he stared at his mother. Seconds later, she burst into flames.

“MOM,” Dean screamed reaching for her. He felt something pulling at him though. “NO,” he shouted. He could see Sam standing behind her burning figure. He was smiling. His smile was cold, inhuman, and almost demonic. Dean just stared then everything went black once more.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 5

2006-02-17T19:14:00.000-08:00

Dean left to take the car back. Sam was left with Emma. They sat across from each other in Emma’s living room. Emma had changed into a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top. She sat on the couch hugging her knees to her chest. There was a long awkward silence as the morning sun shined through the window behind Sam. “Is he always like that,” she asked, finally ending the silence.

“Like what,” Sam asked. He had been lost in though. Sam remembered what Dean had said about what happened. He knew Dean was right and hated that. He should have known better, been stronger. He would have to be extremely alert from now on.

“So cocky and such of himself,” Emma answered.

Sam gave a small laugh and lowered his head. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He looked up at her ad their eyes met. There was something familiar in her eyes. He smiled and shook his head. “Usually,” he said.

“He just seems so… so,” she paused trying to think of the nicest way to say it, “arrogant.”

This made Sam laugh aloud. Emma was one of the few people that had seen passed the lies that Dean told. His laughter quickly faded though. “Sometimes,” he said distantly. Sam thought back on all the times Dean had been there to save his life. He was sure there were times he was too young to remember, like the fire when his mom died. Sam’s mind also traveled to the recent near loss of his brother. He still worried about that.

Emma noticed the sudden change in Sam’s voice. She studied him for a moment. “You’re close aren’t you,” she asked softly.

“I guess,” Sam answered. He wasn’t really sure what to say. “He’s my brother,” Sam said simply. He sighed softly and lowered his head once more. “Dean’s not always so shallow and conceited. Usually, but not always,” he said simply. “There’s more to him.” Sam wasn’t really sure how to explain it.

“What happened to you mom,” Emma asked quickly almost interrupting Sam. Sam’s head shot up at that and he stared at her. “Was Jessica his girlfriend?”

Sam almost laughed at that thought. “Did… did Dean tell you?”

“Not technically,” Emma said looking down. “Does he always talk in his sleep?”

Sam stifled a small laugh. “I’ve heard him on occasion.” Sam sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “Our mom died when I was a baby. There was a fire.” Sam paused. “Something…. killed our mother. And, to answer your other question, no, Jess wasn’t Dean’s girlfriend,” he said sadly. Emma understood by the look in Sam’s eyes.

“Sorry,” she said softly. There was another long awkward silence. “Are you hungry,” Emma asked quickly. She didn’t like awkward silences and she was pretty much stuck with Sam all day. Dean had said he was going to ask around town about the stories. She didn’t want her entire day to be one awkward silence. “I don’t have much, just cereal really.” Sam shook his head. “All right, well I’m gonna get some.” She smiled at him and stood. “So Dean mentioned you were in college,” she called from the kitchen.

“Yeah,” he answered standing right behind her. She jumped and turned around. He smiled and leaned against the counter before pushing himself up onto it. “Stanford. I was studying law.”

Emma did the same then picked up her bowl of Golden Grahams. “Why’d you quit,” she asked with her mouth full of food.

“Dean showed up.” He laughed at how simple it sounded. “Really, it was to help find my dad, and Jessica’s killer.”

“Oh,” she said turning a bit red. Emma caught sight of Sam laughing. “Hell of a lot better reason than mine.”

“Really,” Sam asked.” What’s yours?”

“You’re sitting on it.”

Sam looked down then over at Emma with a questioning look. “You left college and moved half way around the world for countertops,” Sam asked with a smile.

Emma laughed and set her empty bowl down. “Have you really looked at the countertops though? I mean these are antiques.”

“And hand made no doubt,” Sam answered.

“During the American Revolution.” She looked at him and smiled before they both burst out laughing. She liked this Sam more than the depressed brooding once. She looked over at him and smiled, their eyes met again. There was something about his eyes that always seemed to catch her attention, a innocence in them that shouldn’t be there. “That’s quite a hickey you got there,” she said with a smile referring to the bite from the night before. “If you’re not careful you’ll get a reputation.”

Sam laughed. “Dean has enough reputation for the both of us,” he said simply.

“Ah, so Dean’s the ladies’ man then,” she asked with a slight laugh. “Well he’s got the looks for it I’m not denying that,” she said simply. “And I can see how women would be attracted to his confidence.” Sam just rolled his eyes and shook his head. “But seriously, I think he tries to hard.”

“I’ve tried to tell him that,” Sam said with a laugh. “He doesn’t listen to me though. You know, I’m the younger brother so my word means nothing.”

Emma laughed and pushed herself off the counter, Sam did the same. “I wouldn’t know much about that,” she said simply. “I never had any siblings.” She smiled and put her cereal bowl in the sink then turned to Sam. “So wait, let me see if I’ve got this figured out? You’re the brain and Dean’s the brawn,” she said with a smile. Sam laughed and nodded, leaning against the wall on the other side of her. “You don’t like it,” she said simply. “What you and your brother do. You don’t like it do you.”

“Its not a matter of whether I like it or not, its something I have to do,” Sam answered simply.

“Yes, but still you don’t like it.” She studied him for a minute. “I get it now,” she said with a small, excited smile. “I read that journal entry to Dean and he went white, he told you about it and you had a similar reaction. “It’s a parallel,” she said simply. “I mean you’re not chasing a vampire, right,” she said simply. “But still, it’s a parallel. I found another one last night it was dated about three weeks after the first. The younger brother, Daniel, he was supposed to get married. They came home from one of their missions and he found his fiancé dead.” Sam lowered his head and turned just as white as Dean did. She paused for a moment to think. “Sam,” she said softly. She walked up to him and lifted his head. “Not that it will make you feel any better but what happened to Jessica isn’t as bad as what happened to this guys fiancé. It ended for her, right,” she asked looking up into the man’s broken eyes. “Daniel Brennan’s fiancé, ironically named Jessica, was turned. It didn’t end for her for another two centuries,” she said softly.

She couldn’t get over the look in Sam’s eyes. There was pain in there that no one should have to feel. She unconsciously placed her hand gently on his face. “I’m sorry Sam,” she whispered. “I wish there was something I could say to make it not hurt but,” she paused and lowered her head. She knew how he felt, or at least she had some idea. Her first boyfriend, her first love, had been killed in a car accident seven months earlier, sometime in early November. She let her hand fall to her side and lowered her head. “It seems like it will never go away,” she said softly.

Sam looked down at her. He could tell she had lost someone too. She could relate a little and that was comforting to him, at least a little bit. He smiled at her and the two walked back out into the living room. They ended up talking all day, mostly about college life and stuff they did while they were there. Then Sam looked out the window and realized that it was dark. Dean wasn’t back yet. “I wonder where he is,” he said now starting to get worried. “Dean said he’d be back before dark.” Sam sighed and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Dean’s number but soon found that it was pointless. They heard the phone ringing from the basement Dean had forgotten it. “Great,” Sam said with a sigh.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Emma said biting her lower lip. In truth, she was worried about Dean too. However, most her worry came from the fact that if anything happened to Dean, Sam would be devastated.

“Its not like Dean,” Sam said quickly. “If he was gonna be late he would have called first.” Sam sighed and paced around the house. To pass the time they, read more of the pieces of parchment in the basement. Several hours had passed and Dean still hadn’t returned. Sam walked upstairs and looked out the window. Emma followed and watched Sam. “Damn it,” Sam shouted in frustration. Then suddenly there was a soft knock at the door. Emma and Sam both ran to the door. When they opened it Dean fell forward in the doorway. He was covered in blood. Emma jumped back, surprised but not frightened. Sam and Emma picked up Dean and carried him to the couch. There were several large wounds across his chest and along his neck. When Sam looked at them closely, he realized that they were all bite marks. “Shit,” Sam whispered as Emma ran into the kitchen. She got some water and a cloth then ran back to the living room and handed it to Sam. She climbed up on the couch and sat on the back of it looking down at Dean.

He seemed to be unconscious now. Emma was worried more about what sort of affect those marks had, how much blood they had gotten. She was worried less for Dean’s health and safety, and more about her and Sam’s. “Sam be careful,” she said softly.

“I know,” he snapped at her. Sam wiped away as much blood as he could from Dean’s chest and neck. He looked down at his brother who was now ghostly pale. Worry and fear emanated from Sam. Emma noticed Dean move, just slightly, before opening his eyes slowly. “Dean,” Sam said quickly. Dean didn’t say anything though before he fell unconscious again on the couch. Sam quickly checked to see if he was breathing and still had a pulse. His breathing was shallow but there, as was his pulse. Emma stared down at the beaten bloody body that lay at her feet. She looked over at Sam and saw him clench his brother’s hand until Sam’s knuckles were white. His hand was trembling. Sam stared down at his brother. He thought it was over. Dean had already done this to him once, Sam wasn’t sure he could handle it again.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 4

2006-02-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

Emma looked over at Dean. His face was ghostly white. Emma gave him a questioning look. She turned her gaze to the parchment in his hand after a moment. “Vengeance,” she whispered. “They were looking for vengeance.” She looked over at Dean once more. He still hadn’t spoken. “Hey, you all right? Dean?” She studied him for a moment. “That story,” she whispered. “What James Brennan recorded, that means something to you doesn’t it?”

Dean seemed to suddenly snap out of whatever train of thought he was in. He looked over at her. “No,” he said quickly. Then he picked up a few more papers and began reading them. It was obvious to Emma that he was avoiding something.

“Fine then,” she said bitterly. She got up and moved back to where she had been before, mumbling about his secrets.

Sam made his way through the cemetery. Along with the handgun he had in his belt, he had several stakes and other precautions in a bag over his shoulder. Something in him kept telling him that this was a bad idea. He pushed those thoughts away, determined to stay on the ball. He wouldn’t get caught off guard by anything. Dean would never let him forget it if he did. He finally reached the mausoleum and opened the door that had been unlocked by the kids before. After taking a few steps inside, the door slammed shut behind him. “Great,” he said with a sigh. The room suddenly became very cold. He moved the flashlight around the room. On several occasions, he thought he felt something brush passed him.

After what seemed like only five minutes in there, Sam’s flashlight flickered and went out. “Damn it,” he muttered. He looked around, his eyes slowly getting used to the darkness. He sighed loudly; again, he felt something brush passed him. He turned quickly. He could hear soft footsteps around him. He took the gun out and opened the bag. Before he could grab anything from the back something hit him from behind. He felt himself fly across the room and hit the wall on the other side. He got up slowly and looked around.

“Stop,” he heard a female’s voice whisper. The whisper seemed to echo in the room. “Maybe I jumped to conclusions last time,” the woman’s voice said softly. All sounds around him stopped. He stood slowly and tried to find the voice. His hand clenched around the gun. “This one is gifted, powerful.”

“Natasha,” Sam heard a young man’s voice call out.

“Silence child, I have no need for you,” she snapped. “Kill him.” Moments later Sam heard someone scream. “This boy has power, great power.” Slowly Sam saw the figure of the woman. Then he could see her. She was beautiful, unlike anything Sam had seen. Sam knew better. He could see the trick that this creature was using. She approached Sam and ran her hand gently over his face. Her fingers were like ice. A chill shot down Sam’s spine. He tried to keep his mind on what he was supposed to be doing. “What is your name child,” she whispered in his ear. Sam felt her lips lightly touch his neck. Sam’s eyes rolled back. Again, he tried to fight it. He knew what Dean would say if Sam let anything happen. He felt Natasha’s teeth pierce Sam’s skin. Instantly he pushed her away with all his strength. He ran for the bag across the room. Natasha grabbed him and threw him against the wall once more. “Your name,” she shouted.

Sam felt her pin him against the wall. He struggled to get away, until he caught her eyes. He was mesmerized if only for a moment. “Sa… Sam Win… Winchester,” he whispered. He saw her lean forward to bite him again. For a second time Sam pushed her away. He ran as fast as he could for the door, grabbing the bag on the way. Once he opened the door, he knew he was safe. The sun was up now. He didn’t stop running though until he got back to the mansion. He caught sight of the clock as he ran inside. He had been gone for nearly five hours. “DEAN,” he shouted as he ran down the stairs. He found the room Emma had mentioned earlier and stopped dead when he looked inside. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

The two had fallen asleep. Dean never was very good at researching. Dean was lying on the ground with his coat under his head. Emma was laying perpendicular to Dean with her had on his stomach. Sam assumed that Dean had fallen asleep first. “Dean,” Sam said quickly. He walked into the room and shook his brother. Dean jumped awake, but didn’t sit up, realizing that Emma was there. When he looked down and saw her he smiled almost triumphantly.

Sam sighed and shook his head. Dean looked up at his brother and saw blood dripping from Sam’s neck. “Sam,” he said getting up quickly. He let Emma’s head hit the ground and she woke up instantly. Dean looked down at her. “Sorry,” he whispered. “Damn it Sam what happened.”

Sam looked down and saw the blood on his shirt. “Its not as bad as it could have been,” he snapped. “The stories, the vampire stories, they’re true. There’s… there’s a whole coven in there,” he said quickly. “I’m assuming they’re all Wilkes.” He looked down at Emma and Dean. “What?”

“We read this journal entry from my family in Ireland. James Brennan and his brother hunted a vampire. It said they had been hunting it for almost a year after the disappearance of their father. They father started hunting it looking for vengeance after it killed their mother.” She stopped when she saw the same reaction on Sam that Dean had. The two looked at each other. “Now I want you to tell me why you both keep reacting like that.”

“We have a lot in common with them apparently,” Sam answered. He wouldn’t go into detail about it though. “Did you find anything about a woman named Natasha?”

Emma looked through some of the papers. She thought she had seen the name before but she couldn’t remember where. “Sam,” Dean said loudly. “What the hell happened?”

“Nothing Dean,” Sam snapped. “I got out of there before anything could happen.”

“This… this Natasha, she’s one of them?” Sam nodded and watched Emma searching for the papers. “She’s a vampire Emma,” Dean said and Emma stopped searching. She gave him a somewhat bitter glare but he ignored it. To Emma, his personality had completely changed. He was no very upset, almost parental. It slightly amused Emma. “Sam, what happened, how did that happen,” he snapped pointing at the wound on his brother’s neck.

“I told you I got out before anything bad happened.”

“Sam if she bit you something bad already happened,” Dean shouted. “It may not have been enough for her to have any power over you but still.” Dean sighed and stepped out of the room with his brother. “Sam you’ve got that vibe, ESP thing. She knows now.” He ran his hands through his hair and walked around almost nervously. “Sam,” he said with a sigh. “Don’t you think?”

“It was your idea for me to go Dean,” he shouted. “So you could stay here and put moves on her.”

“Hey,” Emma shouted indignantly. She walked out of the room and up to them. “Don’t involve me in your sibling rivalry.”

Sam just shot her an icy glare and Emma took a step back. “Dean, nothing’s gonna happen.”

“Oh no, now she’s tasted psychic boy blood. Nothing bad is gonna happen at all,” he said coldly.

“Dean!” Sam sighed and sat down. “Its fine, you’re getting way too worked up about this.”

“Sorry if I don’t like the idea of my brother being a vampire, you know what with he’s psychic. Oh, and MY BROTHER!!!”

Emma stood leaning against the wall watching them. They had real issues Emma could see that now. They’re relationship was an entertaining one to watch though. “Then maybe you should just leave,” she suggested. She didn’t want to seem rude. “They don’t leave the town because they’re bound to the house, the cemetery, my family. I finished reading after dopey here fell asleep. You move around too much when you sleep,” she said glaring at him. “Anyway,” she said shaking her head. “If this woman is now looking towards your brother then maybe you should just leave.”

“We can’t do that,” Dean said quickly.

“Why,” Emma asked instantly. “I can handle it myself. There’s nothing keeping you here.”

“We can’t just… up and… and leave,” Dean said simply, though his voice told Emma that he wasn’t sure why. She glared at him and Dean looked over at Sam. “It… it just doesn’t seem right,” Dean said quickly.

Sam sighed and ran his hands through his hair, much the same way Dean had before. “We could hide the car, make it seem like we left,” Sam said looking back and forth between Dean and Emma. “We could leave the car at the hotel in town. Then come back here. We’d have plenty of time to do that today.”

Emma watched them for a moment. “We’d have to walk back Sam,” Dean said simply. They both looked like they were considering it. “That actually is a pretty good idea,” he said leaning against the wall opposite Emma. “So I’ll take the car back today and you stay here with Emma.”

Emma laughed at all their planning. “And you’ll stay where,” she asked somewhat coldly. “Didn’t either of you think it would be a good idea to ask me first?”

“Would you mind if we stayed with you,” Sam asked looking over at Emma.

Emma looked back and forth between Sam and Dean. Finally she pushed herself away from the wall and sighed. “Fine,” she said reluctantly. She walked up to Sam and stopped, standing up on her toes. Sam looked at her and leaned down, since he was a good foot taller than she was. “Keep him away from me,” she whispered, looking over at Dean. Then she walked upstairs. Sam looked over at Dean and smile, laughing quietly.

“What,” Dean said looking confused. “What’d she say,” he asked quickly as he followed his brother upstairs.

“Nothing,” Sam answered simply with a smile on his face.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 3

2006-02-07T22:37:00.000-08:00

Emma sat on the couch with her knees hugged to her chest. She looked over at the boys in wonder. There was more there, she could tell. “Why are you here? I want the truth.”

Dean looked at her and sighed. “We were hired by the Matthews family to find they’re missing son,” he answered simply, though he sounded reluctant to answer.

“Missing son,” she asked. She realized it was a bit suspicious that she didn’t know since it was in all the papers and on the news. “I haven’t been in town since I moved in. Why would you come here investigating the boy’s disappearance?”

“A couple of days ago police found the bodies of three students in the cemetery. They said that four students went there that night. The police are still looking for the body of Ben Matthews,” Sam told her. Emma thought back on the screams she heard the week before. “They were investigating the local stories about the cemetery.”

“I heard something about a week ago,” she said softly.

“Did you see anything?” Emma shook her head.

“Actually,” she said quickly. “For the past week there’s been a man standing outside. He just stood there so I didn’t think much of it. Actually I thought it was a ghost. So much has happened here I wouldn’t have been surprised. Then, last night, I looked out the window. He was standing there as usual. I blinked and he was gone. When I turned around he was there in front of me.”

“Really,” Sam said sitting forward and looking over at Dean. “Did he say anything?”

“He said my name,” she said softly thinking back on that night. “Then he said ‘Come with me’. Honestly I think he was hitting on me,” she said, sounding a bit disgusted. “His hands were like ice.”

“Then you two…,” Dean began.

“Are you insane? What do you take me for? He took my hand at one point and touched my face.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“Did he look like this,” Sam asked. He took out a picture of Ben and handed it to Emma.

Emma stared at the picture of the smiling boy. “Yes,” She whispered. She looked back up at them and studied them for a moment. “Tell me, do you believe the stories of the vampires here?”

“We’re investigating any leads at this point,” Dean answered sounding very official. “The boy was a local history buff, or at least a legend seeker. Its said that murders like this haven’t happened here since your family moved away. It might be connected to you. Do you have any idea why?”

Emma thought about it for a moment. “There’s a small room in the basement. I just found it today. It has old books among other things. I haven’t really gotten a chance to look at any of it yet though.”

“All right,” Dean said with a look of excitement on his face. “Sammy, you go check out the cemetery, se what you can find. I’ll stay with Emma and look at these books and such.” Sam gave Dean a skeptical look but heeded his brother’s wishes anyway. As Sam turned and began to walk away, Dean called to him, “Watch your back Sam.” Sam simply smiled and left the house. There was an awkward silence as Dean turned to Emma. She had a small smirk on her face. “What,” he asked defensively.

She simply laughed and stood. She rolled her eyes as she passed him. “This way,” she told Dean, motioning for him to follow her. She led him down into the basement. Once Dean was down stairs Emma stopped and turned to him. “You’re not looking for a missing boy,” she said simply.

“What gives you that idea,” Dean asked coolly.

“Well, for one thing you don’t look the part, though I know appearances can be deceiving. For another, the students didn’t come here so you really have no reason to be here. This home isn’t under investigation. Finally, you’ve asked more questions about the stories than you have about the boy. You’re investigating the vampire legends. What I don’t know is why. Now, for the last time, who are you?”

Dean stared at her for a moment in a bit of shock. “I told you,” he said simply. “I’m Dean Winchester.” He told her no more than that.

Emma glared at him but after a moment realized he wouldn’t tell her anything else. She rolled her eyes and sighed before showing him a tiny room. Inside they found old books and scrolls along with some paintings. There were also weapons, swords and daggers with the same crest on the hilt. “So why did you come here,” Dean asked as they sat there sorting through artifacts.

“My stepfather died,” she answered him. “He left the house to me.” She looked over at him and realized that her answer wouldn’t satisfy. “The house had belonged to my great grandmother on my mom’s side. When my mom died she left it to my stepfather and when he died he left it to me.” She paused and sighed softly. “My mother used to tell me stories about the house. I guess I always believed them. So I decided I would see for myself. I was only planning on staying for a few months.”

“Brennan,” Dean said as he read through some of the older documents. “Brennan, was that the original name for your family,” he asked. Emma nodded. “Have you seen this? Do you know anything about your family when they were still Brennans?” Emma got up and moved to where Dean was sitting, taking a seat by him. She leaned over and read the parchment Dean was holding. She was leaning against his shoulder as she read but she didn’t notice. Dean on the other hand was rather quick to notice. He looked down at her with a mischievous half smile. It was moments like this that made Dean love his job. He was alone in a dark, small, room with a ‘hot’ girl. What’s not to love?

Emma sat straight up when the contents of what se read finally sunk in. As she bolted up the back of her head slammed into Dean’s chin. “Ow,” they said in unison. Emma glared at him before looking back down at the paper. It was almost like a journal entry dated January, 12, 1328. It read:

“The demon eluded us once more. My brother and I have been hunting it for almost a year. Though our hunt pales in comparison to our father’s. For as long as I can remember, our father has hunted this monster. My brother questions me often. He doubts that we will ever find this thing. I believe our father is dead now, or worse. He has been gone for months and I fear the demon finally caught up with him.

Daniel wishes to settle down. He is engaged now and wishes to have a family. I do not understand how he can just abandon her memory so easily. Then I remember that he was only four when the night creature stole our mother from us. I was eight; every night that memory haunts me. My father must have greatly angered the demon. I fear for Jessica’s life. She knows nothing of the history in the family she is about to join. I would write more but for now I must end.

~James Brennan”

Blood, Sweat, and Tears ch. 2

2006-02-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

It had been a week since Dean’s ‘miraculous’ healing and his encounter with the Reaper. They had been driving for three days straight, Dean driving most of the way. Sam was driving now though, as Dean nearly ran off the road. Sam looked over at his brother, who was staring out the window. “You wanna talk about it,” Sam asked as they headed through Pennsylvania. Dean looked over at him with a questioning look.

“Talk about what?” Sam knew what he was doing; he was avoiding the subject. What the subject was, Sam had no idea. It was either Layla, the fact that Dean almost died, the fact that someone else died because of Dean, or a combination of all three. Dean looked up and saw a sign for a small town as they passed by. “You wanna stop for a while,” he asked Sam. Sam looked over at him and nodded. “There,” he said pointing to an exit. They passed a sign that read: “Saratoga Pop. 265”. “Little town,” he said with a laugh.

They pulled up to a small diner. After finding a seat inside, they looked at the menus they were given. It was early in the morning. A young waitress, about Sam's age walked up to them. Dean flashed his usual charming smile and Sam rolled his eyes. They got some coffee and something to eat. On the middle of the table, there was a newspaper. It was the headline on the front page that caught Dean's attention. He picked it up. It read:

Massacre at Saratoga Memorial Cemetery

Tuesday morning investigators found the bodies of three high school students in the Saratoga Memorial Cemetery. The students had been missing for a week when the bodies were finally found. According to friends a group of four of them were planning to investigate the local legends behind the Wilkes Mausoleum in the cemetery. After going to a basketball game the students never returned home. The victims were identified as, Alec Brown, Logan Walker, and Sarah Matthews. The body of Sarah’s twin brother Ben has yet to be found.

“When will these kids learn not to go into places that are supposed to be haunted,” Dean said with a sigh. He looked around and noticed people were looking at them. He smiled and nodded at the people around them. “So what d’ya say? Should we stick around and check it out? It does seem to be our kinda thing?”

Sam sighed and looked at the paper. “I guess so,” he said quietly. “After we get some sleep.”

“Miss Grey,” a man’s voice on the phone asked. “We were finally able to find your step-father’s will. We would like you to come to have a look at it.”

“What,” she said utterly amazed, her Irish accent ringing in the silent air. “Of course,” she answered softly. With that the young woman was on a plane from Dublin to London. She arrived and found lawyers surrounding her. Emma Grey was a young woman of twenty-five years of age. She was born in London but raised by a wealthy lawyer in Dublin. Her family heritage, on her mother’s side, was full of mystery and ghost stories. Emma is now a student at Trinity College in Dublin, studying history and mythology.

“Now, Miss Grey as we understand it, your step-father left you a manor in Pennsylvania. Apparently, it had belonged to your mother and when she died she gave it to Mr. Grey.” She nodded, not sure what the point was. “We are willing to arrange transportation if you want to the estate.”

“No,” she said quickly. “I’ll… I’ll go myself.” After a few more legal arrangements, she returned to her hotel room. She remembered her mother telling her stories of the house. It had been in her family for generations. She used to tell Emma ghosts stories about. They always excited the young imaginative girl. Emma flew back to her home in Dublin and packed up her belongings. She withdrew from her classes, telling her professors about the estate in Pennsylvania.

She arranged to fly there and move in by herself. She was always an independent girl. Before leaving though, she did some research on the house and her family. Excitement filled her as she found out more. She decided it wouldn’t be a great idea to tell the citizens who she was since they used to think her family was cursed. She was just a visitor to them.

She arrived and saw the place. It wasn’t in the best shape it could have been in but she was surprised since it hadn’t been inhabited in almost a century. She moved some of her things in. She looked around the house. In the basement, she found bloodstains on the cement walls. She ran her fingers over them with a small smile, it was just as her mother had told her, and her grandmother had said. She found a box in the basement with news clippings and writings on her family. It went back to the fourteenth century in Ireland.

The nights there were restless. She constantly thought she was hearing footsteps. She could hear a faint whisper in her sleep. When she would open her eyes there would be nothing there. She didn’t scare easily though. All these events made her want to stay longer. That all changed one night about a week or so after she arrived. She was thrown from her sleep when she swore she heard screaming coming from the cemetery bordering her house. She walked to the window but saw nothing.

The next night though she looked out the window and saw a young man standing outside her home. When she went downstairs and went outside the man was gone. She saw the same man the night after that. She opened her window this time and called out to him but he didn’t answer. She thought maybe he was a ghost but that made little sense because of his dress. If he was the ghost of someone who lived in the house his clothes would be old.

The clothes this young man wore were new, a simple blue t-shirt, a leather jacket, white tennis shoes and blue jeans. She saw him every night for a week. She began to wait up for him, she would look out her window at 1 o’clock in the morning every night, and there he was. One night though she looked and he wasn’t there. When she turned, she was amazed to see the young man standing behind her. Her heart skipped a beat and she took a step back.

“Who… who are you,” she asked softly. The young man was pale and seemed to glow when the moonlight hit him. He was tall, taller than she was anyway, with penetrating eye. He didn’t speak. There was something about him that captured the young woman. He took a step closer to her and she backed against the wall.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered. His voice was melodic and soothing. He took a step forward as did she. Her heart was racing though she didn’t know why. Emma thought she heard something outside and she turned to look out the window. She saw nothing, when she turned around she found the man was gone. She took a few steps forward and looked around. “Emma,” a faint whisper came from behind her. A chill shot down her spine and she felt icy cold hands wrap around her. “Come with me Emma,” he whispered in her ear. He ran the tips of his fingers of her neck sending more chills through her. After that though he disappeared and she didn’t see him again.

A week and a half after she first saw him she looked out the window and saw nothing. She took a step back and looked rather disappointed.

She stopped dead though when she heard footsteps in the house. She walked downstairs and looked around. When she entered the ballroom she saw a man there, a different man. He was tall, he looked to be around her age though his back was to her so she couldn’t tell. He was wearing boots, faded blue jeans, and a leather coat. In his right hand was a shotgun. She took a step forward and the floor creaked. The man stood straight and turned around, aiming the shotgun at her. “Who the hell are you,” he said quickly.

Emma turned when she heard footsteps behind her. She saw another man, younger than the first but taller. He had longer hair as well. “I could ask both of you the same question,” she said quickly. “You can put that down in my house,” she snapped. The man looked at her shocked and reluctantly lowered the gun. “I’m Emma Grey,” she answered simply. Then she turned to the first man. “You’re turn.”

“Dean Winchester, that’s my little brother Sam,” he answered pointing to the taller of the two. “You’re house?”

“Yes, mine, as in I own it. As in you’re trespassing and I could have you arrested.”

“We were told that this place was abandoned, that no one had lived her for a century.”

“True,” she said simply. “My family moved to Ireland long ago, I inherited the house when my step-father died last month.” She looked back and forth between the two of them. “Now, I’m going to ask you one more time. What the hell are you doing in my house,” she snapped.

Dean obviously looked a little taken aback. “We’re…,” he paused trying to think of something. They didn’t come up with a cover story since they thought no one lived there. “We’re…..” He looked to Sam for help.

“We heard stories about the house all our lives,” Sam said quickly. “We just wanted to check it out.”

“Oh,” she said simply. “Well, you’ve checked it out, now you can leave. Good-bye.”

Dean stepped forward. “Actually we’re heard stories of vampires,” he said simply. “We wanted to see if there was any evidence here.” Dean had noticed all the papers spread around the room. He could tell she was into that type of thing. “Maybe you can help us out. See, there were these murders in the cemetery over there about a week ago. Rumor has it that vampires did it.”

“Do you believe these rumors,” she asked with a small smile.

“Maybe,” he said smirking. “We already checked out the place. Have you seen the paintings inside? Gaelic markings, they’re repeated like a chant or something.” He paused noticing her accent. “You’re from Ireland,” he said with a smile. “How ironic.”

“Is there a point to this,” she asked impatiently. Sam looked completely clueless.

“Do you happen to know Gaelic?”

She paused, wondering how he knew that. Then she looked down and saw the papers she had been writing. She smiled at him and nodded. “Come on in,” she said with a smile. “You want something to drink, either of you?”

“No, I’m good,” Sam said with a smile. He walked into the room and sat down on a large chair.

“What about you,” she asked. Dean shook his head. “All right then,” she said simply. She went into the kitchen and got a beer. Over the month she had been there she had gotten electricity and internet access set up in the house. She walked back into the room and sat down across from Dean. Dean looked a little upset that she had the beer. “I asked,” she said simply. She paused and looked at him. “So what is it you want to know,” she said with a smile. “I don’t know much myself. I just got here and found a lot of this stuff.”

Dean sighed and looked over at his brother. Sam handed her a folder full of pictures from the mausoleum. “Do you think you can tell us what it says,” he asked with a sweet smile.

She looked down at the pictures and took out some of her notes from school. “Ummm…,” she paused and tried to match it up. “It doesn’t make sense. It’s the same three words over again: fear, fire, blood,” she said softly. “Fear, fire, blood.”

NEW STORY: Blood, Sweat, and Tears Ch. 1

2006-02-03T01:35:00.000-08:00

“Don’t tell me you’re scared. Seriously, Sarah, they’re only stories,” eighteen-year-old Alec Brown told his girlfriend. There were four students at Saratoga Memorial Cemetery that night, Alec Brown, Logan Walker, and twins, Sarah and Ben Matthews. They had heard stories of the mausoleum in the cemetery. It was blackened, as if burned but there was never any fire there. The name that once existed above the entrance was all but gone now. Inside, many graves filled the structure but no bodies or remains of any kind have ever been found in the mausoleum.

The Walls inside had archaic markings on them, written in what was rumored to be blood. It’s been washed away numerous times but the markings always returned. Legend says that the markings were vampric symbols. The legends were what brought the four Saratoga High seniors to the cemetery that night. The brought cameras in order to catch some footage of so-called vampric activities.

The idea had actually belonged to Ben. Alec, being the most adventurous one of the group, and Ben’s best friend since they were in diapers, instantly agreed. Logan, the intellectual one of the group, only agreed once Ben mentioned the markings. Sarah on the other hand was firmly against it. Alec didn’t want to leave his girlfriend out of this adventure so he asked Ben to try to convince her. Eventually he was able to coerce his sister into going. As they approached the mausoleum, Alec looked over and saw Sarah’s hand tremble. He walked up next to her and laced his fingers with hers. “Relax,” he whispered in her ear. Logan managed to easily picked the lock keeping unwanted visitors out. The four lifelong friends entered, Ben taking his usual position in the front of the group. They looked around and found the place just as they had heard, empty. Ben sighed in disappointment. He had hoped to find something more concrete to prove this was real. They continued to explore, taking pictures and video of the symbols painted on the wall.

“Dude, looks like someone got a little too into Lord of the Rings,” Alec said with a laugh.

“They look like Celtic symbols actually, not Tolkien’s elvish but what he based it off of,” Logan said distantly as the took pictures and notes about what he saw.

Alec shined his flashlight on him. “So do you like know everything Logan,” he asked with a smile. It warranted a punch in the shoulder from Sarah.

“Why do you gotta be such an ass,” she asked rolling her eyes.

“Just my nature I guess,” he said with a smile. “But you love it.”

She just rolled her eyes again and sighed. “Damn,” Logan muttered as the batteries in his camera died. Moments later, his light went out too.

“Looks like electronics aren’t your thing man,” Alec said sarcastically. Again, Sarah punched him in the shoulder. “What?”

“Can we go now,” Sarah asked impatiently.

“Just a little longer sis,” Ben answered still taking photographs. “I want to get as much of these markings as possible so maybe our professor here can find a translation, right Logan,” Ben said with a smile. He stood up and turned around when there was no answer. “Logan,” he called out again. Still there was no answer.

“Logan this isn’t funny,” Sarah said beginning to get worried. Logan wasn’t the practical joker that Alec was. Alec’s light flickered then went out, that was shortly followed by Ben’s light, the last flashlight. They were left in pitch darkness now. “Logan,” she called again. She reached her hand out for Alec’s, her heart was pounding in her chest. She calmed a little when she felt Alec’s fingers lace with hers. They were cold, but she assumed he was just scared. “Ben, I think we should go now,” she said softly. There was no answer. “B… Ben,” she said again with a broken voice. “Alec what are you doing,” she asked when she felt his arms wrap around her and his lips lightly touch her neck. “Alec stop it,” she said angrily, now was not the time, nor place for this. Sarah shoved him away when he did not listen. She took a step back and tripped, falling backwards. One of the flashlights came back on and Sarah turned to look at it. What she saw however made her heart stop. She screamed and tried to back away. Lying on the ground with his eyes wide open and look of horror on his face was Logan Walker. He was covered in blood. Sarah picked up the flashlight and looked around the room. She stopped the light on another body.

Sarah ran to it as fast as she could. It was Alec. Tears filled her eyes and she dropped to her knees. She picked him up and held him in her arms, rocking back and forth. She loved him; they had been together all their lives. She couldn’t imagine life without him. “Sar… Sarah,” Ben’s voice choked. She lifted the light, searching for her brother. She finally found him in the corner and ran to him. She stumbled though and the flashlight flew out of her hand, shattering on the stone floor. Moments later, Ben heard her scream. “Sarah,” he called out. He stood slowly rubbing his head. Ben could hear footsteps all around him. They were getting closer. Then suddenly they stopped.

“Spare this one,” a woman’s voice said. She had the most amazing voice and accent. Ben could barely make out the figure of a beautiful young woman in the darkness. She seemed to glow and her voice was like a song. It invaded every part of Ben’s mind. She approached him slowly and gracefully. Her magnificent blue eyes captivated him and he couldn’t look away. “He belongs to me. He has great potential,” she said to the others that were around them. She then turned her attention back to Ben and ran her fingers across his face. Her touch was cold, but fire at the same time. “What is your name child?”

“Be… Ben Matthews,” he said softly.

She smiled at him and leaned forward, kissing him lightly. Her soft lips then moved to his neck. “Its nice to meet you Ben Matthews,” she whispered in his ear. His eyes rolled back in his head. The world seemed to fade away, then he heard and saw no more.

Straightjacket Feeling ch. 8

2006-01-31T13:34:00.000-08:00

“House” Dean said with a bit of a laugh as they stood outside the oldest house in town. “This is a mansion.” The house was a huge three-story mansion probably built in the late 18th century, early 19th century. He looked over at Sam and smirked. “Though I suppose she wasn’t really conscious when she was brought in,” he said with a bit of a laugh. It had been two days since Abbi called Dean. Dean had taken the advice of both his brother and the son of a bitch that had his best friend and gotten some sleep. The stood outside the mansion, not only was it the oldest house in town it was the only one uninhabited. They both knew it was a trap, why else would it be so easy.

That didn’t change Dean’s plan to go in there and get Abbi. “He’s looking for a confrontation,” Dean said simply. “He’s gonna get one.” He looked over at his brother, both carrying duffle bags full of any sort of weapon they might need. The walked up the steps and pushed the creaky door open. Then standing in the entryway they looked around. The house hadn’t been inhabited in a long time. There was no electricity. No problem, they brought flashlights. “You take this floor I’ll go up stairs, if you don’t find anything here go up to the third floor,” Dean told his baby brother. Sam nodded and headed passed the stairs and Dean headed up them. “Sammy,” he called quietly after his brother. Sam stopped and turned to Dean. “Be careful,” he said simply. Sam rolled his eyes and reluctantly nodded.

There were four rooms on the first floor, a large ballroom that was completely empty, an even larger kitchen, a study. Sam decided that he would check out the study later when they had Abbi and this Doyle guy was dead. The last room was in the back. It appeared to be a large storeroom that had been turned into a bedroom at some point. It appeared to be empty, but the room fit the description that Abbi gave Dean. He looked out the only window and saw both the moon and the hospital. He gave a jump when he heard the door close and he turned around. Sam moved the flashlight around, but found nothing. “Sam,” a small, but familiar voice called to him. His heart nearly stopped, but he figured it was Doyle. That was his assumption until his flashlight stopped on white fabric. He raised it up and saw the beautiful flawless face and blonde hair that belonged to the love of his life. “Sam,” she said again.

This time he swore his heart did stop. “J… Jess,” he chocked. She walked up to him and looked up into his dark, pain-filled eyes. He didn’t want to believe it. It wasn’t real, just a figment of his imagination. Then he felt her small hands on his chest. It was almost unbearable. “Jess,” he whispered again looking down at the angel before him. She smiled at him and gently ran her hand along his cheek. Then she raised herself on her toes and closed her eyes as she kissed him. At that moment, the bag Sam had over his shoulder fell to the ground and Sam dropped the shotgun. He placed his hands on her waist as he leaned down into her kiss. The realistic part of his mind was telling him this was impossible but he wouldn’t listen to it.

“Sam,” she whispered once more as she slowly leaned away from him. She smiled at him, tears in her eyes. She paused and looked down for a moment before slowly raising her eyes to him. “Sam you could have saved me,” she whispered. “Its his fault you know,” she said softly. “He shows up, hits on me, then steals you away so I can die? Its not fair Sam,” she said as she began to cry.

“Jess that’s not true,” he said softly cupping her face in his hands. “Its not true. Well, maybe the showing up and hitting on you part but rest isn’t true I swear.”

She shook her head and took a step back. “He didn’t want you to go back did he? He wanted you to stay with him. You thought about it didn’t you?” Her voice held a hint of accusation in it. She sighed and lowered her head before stepping back to him and placing her hands on his chest. “I don’t want to fight Sam,” she whispered before kissing him again. When she leaned back this time she looked into his eyes and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “I love you Sam Winchester,” she whispered.

He smiled and lightly kissed her. “I love you too Jess,” he whispered as he held her close, her head resting on his chest. “I always will.” He tried to fight back tears but it was impossible. “I’d do anything to save you Jess,” he whispered. “Anything.”

She slowly looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. “You have to kill him Sam,” she whispered.

That’s when the rational side of Sam won over and he shoved Jess back and looked down at her. “I will not kill my brother,” he said simply.

“Then you’ll let me die again,” she whispered looking hurt. “Sam we’re being given a second chance. You’re going to pass that up for him. He doesn’t care about you Sam, not anymore, not since Abbi came back. As soon as he finds her he’ll leave, whether you’re with him or not. You were just something so he didn’t have to be alone. With your dad and Abbi gone Dean was alone so he came to find you so he wouldn’t be alone anymore. But Abbi’s back now. He doesn’t need you anymore.” She stopped and lowered her head. “I still need you Sam,” she whispered.

“I will not kill my brother,” he said firmly. Then he pushed her away again and ran for the door. It was locked. He looked down and realized it locked from the inside. He turned the lock and tried to open it again. It was still locked. He was about to yell for Dean when he heard a broken voice behind him.

“Dea… Dean?” He turned instantly, the flashlight in his pocket. He pulled it out and flashed it towards the bed. Sure enough, lying there on the bed was a pale, almost dead looking Abbi. He ran over to her, maybe he had missed it somehow when he was looking around the first time. She was indeed tied down to the bed. He quickly untied the robes and sat down next to her for a moment.

“No, Abbi,” he whispered brushing her sweat covered hair out of her face. She was feverish and shaking. “Its Sammy,” he whispered. It was the first time he had actually referred to himself as Sammy. Usually he hated that name but he thought it would make Abbi feel safer. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled at him as he picked her up. He held her in his arms for a moment as she slowly regained consciousness.

“Sammy,” she whispered with a faint smile. There were tears in her eyes.

“Its ok,” he whispered wiping the tears from her eyes. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now.” She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He held her there as she cried, rocking her back and forth like she used to do when he was little. “Nothing’s going to hurt you now Abbi,” he whispered. It hurt him to talk to her like that because that was always her job. It was always Abbi that stayed up with Sam when he was scared. She was the only one that tried to make him feel safe when he was afraid at night. “You’ve got me and my brother here to protect you,” he whispered.

She looked up at him slowly, her eyes meeting his. She smiled at him and he tucked her hair back behind her ear. She paused and leaned back, able to sit by herself now. “Sam,” she whispered. He looked over at her with a questioning look. “Do you know why I was fighting with Dean,” she asked softly. “Be… before on the road.” Sam shook his head. He had been wondering but it had been in the back of his mind since she was in the hospital. It seemed rather trivial at the time. “A… about a month before we went to Europe, before I stayed there, I… I walked in on Dean and a… a mutual friend of our, Cassie. We weren’t really anything you know, not like officially but come on Sam you’ve known how I’ve felt about Dean since you were three. He’s just so dense sometimes. We had a bit of a fight but I told him I understood and I wasn’t mad at him. I lied, and that’s why I stayed in Europe. I guess he kinda figured that.” She laughed and hugged her knees to her chest. Sam moved a bit closer to her, since she was still shaking.

“Then when I was in Ireland I met Doyle. He was sweet, sarcastic, dense.”

“Dean,” he said with a bit of a laugh.

“With an Irish accent,” she said with a smile. “But then I found out, he wasn’t what he seemed. He betrayed me. Just like everyone else,” she whispered with tears in her eyes.

Sam moved closer once more and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. He wiped the tears from her eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear once more. “I haven’t betrayed you Abbi,” he whispered. She looked into his eyes and smiled faintly at him. Without realizing it, she found herself leaning forward and her lips lightly touching Sam’s. Sam jumped a bit but after a second, he leaned forward into the kiss. He had one hand on her cheek and the other behind her head, fingers laced in her hair as he kissed her.

At that moment, the door kicked in. Dean stood in shock in the doorway. Sam and Abbi both turned to face him. Sam’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he had done. Abbi stood slowly and stumbled over to him as Dean walked into the room. “How does it feel,” she asked with a small smile. He wasn’t looking at her. He actually pushed her out of the way and walked over to Sam.

“You backstabbing son of a bitch,” he said picking Sam up by his shirt and slamming him against the wall. Sam had only seen that look of hatred once before, and that was a couple of days ago. Dean hit Sam upside the head with the shotgun. Sam fell to the floor. Dean aimed the gun at him. Sam stood, picking up the shotgun he had dropped earlier. They stood facing each other both about ready to shoot, though Sam was doing it in defense. Abby ran at them to get them to stop. The sudden movement startled Sam and he turned the gun to her and shot. Abbi fell to the ground instantly. Dean dropped his shotgun and ran to her side. “Abbi,” he whispered picking up her lifeless body. Blood covered her clothes now. He held her tight. “Get out of here Sam,” Dean said through gritted teeth. He didn’t want to do anything stupid.

Sam just stood there in shock. Abbi was dead. He killed her. He looked up and saw Jess standing in the corner. “I told you Sam,” she whispered. “Dean doesn’t need you anymore. He hates you. If he finds out about me Sam, he’ll come after me, he’ll kill me. You have to stop it now Sam,” she whispered.

She was right. Dean was the type for revenge. What better revenge that to take the one Sam loves? His hand shook as he raised the shotgun. He wouldn’t shoot his brother in the back though. “Dean,” he said with a broken voice.

“I told you to get out of here Sam,” Dean shouted turning around. The instant Dean turned and his eyes met Sam’s Sam pulled the trigger sending the hot lead piercing through his brother’s chest, straight through his heart. Dean was dead before he hit the ground, lying hand in hand with his love.

Sam slowly fell to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes. “De… Dean,” he whispered knowing he wouldn’t get a response. The only other time he had seen his brother dead was when it was the shape shifter and he thought that was hard, this was unbearable. Sam looked up and Jess was gone. His heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t real. She wasn’t real. He killed his brother for nothing. He raised his shaky hand and closed his eyes as he felt the barrel of the shotgun against his head. He cocked the gun and tightened his finger around the trigger.

Straightjacket Feeling ch. 9

2006-01-30T23:36:00.000-08:00

Sam clenched his eyes closed as he tightened his finger around the trigger of the gun. In his mind he could still hear Dean yelling at him. “Sam, Sam. Damn it Sam answer me when I’m ca-” Sam opened his eyes for a split second and thought he saw Dean in the doorway. “Damn it,” Dean whispered running to Sam. “What the hell are you doing,” he shouted pulling his brother’s arm down.

Sam looked down and saw Dean’s cold, dead body on the ground. “Sam,” Dean shouted staring at his brother. Sam’s head whipped up, hitting Dean’s chin. “Ow, Sam,” he shouted. Sam looked into his brother’s eyes. There was terror in his eyes. Dean paused for a moment and looked at him. “Sammy,” he shouted. “I heard shooting. What the hell do you think you were doing?”

Sam’s hands were still shaking as he dropped the shotgun. He looked down and still saw Dean’s body on the ground lying next to Abbi. “I… I… De… Dean,” he whispered staring brokenly at an empty floor.

Dean looked down, trying to figure out what his brother was staring at and why he was in tears. “Sam,” he said again shaking his brother. “Sam!”

Sam looked up at him as the image of his dead brother faded away and Sam realized it wasn’t real. He was trembling under his brother’s arms. “Dean?” He stared at his brother’s face which held an expression of utter confusion. “I killed you.”

“What,” Dean shouted in shock. “You what? Sam I’m right here. I haven’t seen you since we split up when we got here. I’ve been upstairs. I came back down here when I heard shooting. You shot several nice holes in the place though,” he said pointing to the hole in the wall and the one in the floor in front of them. “What’s goin’ on,” he asked beginning to get worried about his little brother.

Sam stood slowly and leaned against the wall. “Its… its nothing,” he said softly, still shaking.

“Nothing,” Dean shouted. “You just said you killed me. That’s nothing?”

“Did, did you find Abbi,” he asked. He pushed himself away from the wall. “We have to find Abbi,” he said realizing the sick girl wasn’t there.

“I think she’s on the third floor. I was about to head up there when I heard the shooting. Sam what happened?”

“Nothing,” he snapped. He pushed passed his brother and headed out of the room.

“Sam get back here,” Dean shouted. He sighed when his brother didn’t listen and picked up the stuff that Sam left behind then he went running after Sam. “Sammy wait,” he shouted as he caught up with Sam. He handed the shotgun to Sam. Sam reluctantly took it and looked over at Sam.

“It was so real Dean,” he whispered. “I could… I could feel it, her touch. She was there Dean I swear. Jess was there.”

“So you killed me. Sorry if I don’t follow.”

“Its complicated.” He sighed as they walked up the stairs. “Dean,” he said softly. Dean turned to him but didn’t speak. “Did you, did Abbi walk in on you and a girl named Cassie,” he asked quietly as they walked up the stairs to the third floor.

“No,” he said simply. “Why? If someone told you that its not true. Its not even possible. I didn’t even meet Cassie until after we came back from England without Abbi. I told Abbi about her, but she was never there when I was with Cassie.” He looked over at Sam questioningly. “Sam what happened back there,” he asked.

“Nothing,” Sam said again. They finally got to the top of the stairs. “You go that way, I’ll check this way,” Sam said pointing in opposite directions. Dean nodded reluctantly. As they began to split up Sam turned to Dean. “Dean,” he called after his older brother. “Be careful,” he said quickly. “And, don’t necessarily trust what you think is real. He makes you see things, feel things. Just be careful.”

Dean nodded and headed down the hallway. He entered a small dark bedroom. In the corner by the door, there was a large canopy bed. On the other side in the corner of the room, there was a window. Dean walked in slowly, holding the shotgun up, ready to shoot if need be. He moved the flashlight slowly around the room and stopped when he saw a figure lying on the bed. He remembered Sam’s words, not to trust what he saw. He looked on at the unconscious figure. Her skin was so pale. Dark circles encompassed her once beautiful brown eyes.

He wasn’t sure if it was really Abbi. What had Sam seen in that room? Jess? It had to be something more if he thought he killed Dean. Had Sam seen Abbi? Dean took a small step towards the bed. She didn’t move. Her arms were tied down, and her feet to the posts of the bed. He stood at the side of the bed looking down at her for a moment. Then he heard something from outside in the hall. He took a step back and looked out in the hall but saw nothing.

When he turned back to the bed Abbi was gone. He looked around for a moment. That didn’t make sense she was right there. Maybe she hadn’t been real. He flashed the light around the room and walked around for a moment, stopping in the center of the room. There was nothing there. He sighed and looked around once more. Then he felt it. It was so small he wasn’t even sure what it was until he looked down and saw in the small circle of light on the wood floor, the little drop of blood. He had felt another hit the top of his head, the second one. His hand shook as he stared at the floor for a moment, afraid to look up and find the body of the only girl that ever really knew him, understood him.

He knew he had to do it though. He closed his eyes, his flashlight raised first, and then his head followed with his eyes still closed. He felt a drop of warm blood fall onto his closed eyes. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Dean opened his eyes to his worst fear. It had heard the first time he had thought it had happened, when the police officer had told him that the fire had started in her room. His heart stopped as he stared at the ceiling, a drop of Abbi’s blood fell and landed in his right eye. He looked down for a moment, blinking it away. As soon as he looked up she burst into flames. “ABBI,” he screamed.

He couldn’t move. The fire was closing in on him but he couldn’t move. He tried, he tried to move, the whole house was made of wood. He wouldn’t let Sammy get caught in it. Then he lowered his head to see a figure in the corner of the room. He walked out into the light of the flames slowly and rage filled Dean. Standing in the corner of the room, with his arms crossed and a smile on his face was his little brother. “Dean,” he said with a laugh. “Who did you think it was?” He laughed and took another step towards him. Dean raised the shotgun. It couldn’t really be Sam. Sam was only a baby when their mother died. It couldn’t be Sam.

“Would you kill me Dean,” he asked looking at his brother with pain in his eyes. “You’ve spent your whole life trying to protect me. Would you really kill me? What would you do to save her Dean,” he asked with a smile. Dean froze. “Anything? That’s how I felt with Jess. I would have done anything to save her. I just, I couldn’t help it. The power, it was too great.” He laughed and looked up at the ceiling. Dean raised his head and saw that there was nothing there. When he looked down he was alone in the room again.

Sam came running into the room a second later. Dean turned and aimed the gun at him causing Sam to take a frightened step back. “Dean what’s going on? I heard you scream. Did you find her,” he asked quickly. Dean lowered his shotgun realizing that it was indeed his baby brother.

“Sam,” he said with a pause. “Tell me what happened downstairs. I want to know why you thought you killed me.”

“Dean we don’t have-”

“NOW SAM,” Dean shouted.

Sam sighed and lowered his head. “It… it started with Jess,” he said quietly. “He made me see things. Things that weren’t real Dean. Its nothing really. I obviously didn’t really kill you so what does it matter..” Sam closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.

“That’s what you’re afraid of,” Dean said quickly. “That you’ll kill me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just trust me. This guy has gotten in our minds, probably through Abbi since she knows us so well.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’m assuming you didn’t find her.” Sam solemnly shook his head. Dean sighed and looked around the room.

“Dean,” Sam said quickly as he looked over at the bed. Dean shined the flashlight on the bed and saw that Abbi was still lying there, unconscious and bound to the bed.

Dean dropped the light, and his gun and ran to her side. She had to be real, if both of them were seeing her, right? He sat down at her side while Sam helped him untie her. Then he picked up her limp body and brushed her hair out of her face. “Abbi,” he whispered shaking her a bit. “Abbi come on,” he said softly. Her breathing was faint, almost nonexistent. “Abbi wake up,” he whispered again. Sam just stood there watching, leaning against the bedpost.

“Dean,” Sam said softly. “This was too easy. Where is he?” Dean knew he was right but he didn’t want to admit it. They hadn’t had an encounter with Doyle at all, just Doyle’s tricks. Dean looked down at Abbi’s pale body. Sam could see the sweat on her face. She really was feverish.

“Was it me you were looking for Dean,” a familiar voice said from the doorway. Dean turned and saw Doyle, dressed as the firefighter he had met as a child. “Or was it Abbi?” Dean gently set Abbi back down on the bed and stood, turning to face Doyle. He didn’t say anything, Dean’s death glare was answer enough. It didn’t seem to scare Doyle though. He just laughed and shook his head. “Dean,” he said sounding disappointed. “She won’t get any better if you kill me. I’m the only thing keeping her alive at this point.”

Dean looked down and realized he had left the shotgun about a yard behind him in the middle of the room. Sam, standing next to him noticed as well and handed Dean his gun. Doyle laughed once more and entered the room. He took a step towards the bed and Dean moved to block his way. “Think about it Dean. You’re smarter than this. Did you really think she had Leukemia? What do doctors know of the supernatural? Honestly, you should have noticed that right away and maybe I wouldn’t have had to take her. You cannot go ten plus years without treatment for Leukemia and still be able to live, let alone do what she did. She was an amazing hunter Dean, but you already knew that didn’t you. She was better than you.” Dean fingers clenched around the shotgun so tight his knuckles turned white. Doyle took another step towards Abbi and Dean moved to block him. Though, a second later Dean noticed that Doyle was already at Abbi’s side.

“She’s going to die Dean,” he said simply, running his fingers through her hair. He looked down at her. “It’s a shame the world will lose a woman so beautiful. And how she dies, that’s the worst part of all,” he said as he looked up at Dean with a smile. “You figured it out though Dean, what I was doing. I’ll give you credit for that. You’re not as stupid as your father said you were.” At that Dean raised the gun and aimed at Doyle’s face. Doyle simply laughed and stood walking up to Dean. Dean blinked and when he opened his eyes, he saw Sam standing in front of him. He looked behind him where his brother was and he was gone. He knew it was some kind of illusion. It wasn’t real. He wouldn’t fall for it this time.

“Dean what are you doing,” his brother’s voice said but it was Sam. It couldn’t be Sam. “Dean put the gun down. I’m just trying to help man. Dean put the gun down.” He took a step back and raised his hands in the air. Dean slowly moved to Abbi’s side, not taking the gun away from “Sam’s” face.

“Do you think I’m that stupid,” he said with a bitter laugh. He lowered the gun only for a moment to pick Abbi up. “I can see through you’re little act.” At that he saw his brother reappear next to Doyle. “Now,” be began lowering the gun after her noticed that Sam had picked up the other one. “My little brother and I are going to take Abbi out of here. Then, he’s going to take her far away and I’m going to come back here and kill you,” he said as if it were so simple.

There was a little look of worry on Doyle’s face. He hadn’t counted on Dean’s will being so strong. He was actually willing to kill his little brother to save Abbi’s life. He hadn’t counted on that. It worked to his advantage though. “All right Dean,” he said with a smile. “We’ll play your way.” He laughed and before Sam could react, Doyle grabbed the gun from his hand and aimed it at Sam’s head. “Now what Dean,” he asked with a smile. “Its her, or your-”

“Abbi,” Dean answered without hesitation. Dean knew Sam still had the ability to fight back. It’s true that Doyle was strong, and fast, and not entirely human so it would be a bit hard for Sam to beat him, but Sam still had the ability. Abbi was unconscious and all but dead. He wouldn’t leave her behind. Sam didn’t seem to understand Dean’s thought process though. He looked at his brother with a hurt and betrayal in his eyes. That look killed Dean but he knew it had to be done. Sam would realize it soon enough and he would be able to get away from Doyle, or at least stall him long enough so Dean could get Abbi in his car then come back for Sam.

“All right then Dean,” Doyle said with a smile. In one swift motion, Doyle lowered the gun to Sam’s chest and pulled the trigger. Dean hadn’t counted on that. He nearly dropped Abbi and ran to his brother’s side. Sam was coughing and had his eyes clenched shut.

“Sammy,” he said leaning over his brother. Dean looked down at his brother and noticed that there was no bullet hole. Instead, there were several large gashes on his chest. “You loaded it with rock salt,” Dean said with a bit of a questioning look.

Sam smiled. “I didn’t think it would be best for both to have bullets,” he said through gritted teeth. “In case something happened.”

That’s when Dean realized that it was actually his shotgun. “You loaded mine with rock salt,” he said quickly.

Sam laughed and shut his eyes tightly. “Like I said, in case something happened.”

Dean turned and stood. It was obvious that Doyle hadn’t expected the gun to be loaded with rock salt. Sam should be dead right now, instead he was just laying in severe pain, bordering on consciousness on the ground. Dean could see the anger in his eyes. Dean ran to Abbi’s side and picked her up. She was beginning to wake up. Dean set her gently on the bed as she began to regain consciousness. Doyle looked over at her and smiled. Doyle knew he couldn’t keep Abbi sick any longer. It would take her years though to fully recover from what he had done. He smiled at her and blew her a kiss. “You will think of me,” he whispered before he disappeared.

Dean sat beside Abbi and brushed her hair out of her face. “Abbi,” he whispered. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him.

“Is it over,” she whispered.

Dean wanted to tell her yes but he knew she could always tell when he was lying. He couldn’t get that thought out of his head. Their father had spoken to Doyle? Their father had told Doyle that Dean was stupid? It didn’t seem right. Dean looked over at Sam. “You okay there big guy,” he said as Sam started to get up.

“Oh, yeah wonderful,” he said sarcastically. “You know Dean, you could have at least thought about it for a moment, like I meant something.”

“Dude,” Dean began rolling his eyes at his brother, “I knew you would be able to get out of it somehow. You had the advantage of being conscious.”

“And he had a gun loaded with rock salt.”

“Yeah we’re gonna talk about your trust issues later,” he said somewhat coldly. “My gun? That’s so not fair.” Dean looked down at Abbi, who just stared at him with a blank look on her face. “Long story. One that will make a great story to tell the grandkids.”

At that Abbi caughed and her eyes opened wide. “Grandkids,” she said weakly but there was a hint of humor in her voice. “You think you’re going to be lucky enough to have kids with me, let alone grandkids, after this little stunt. You have some major kissing up to do before you get anywhere near anything that can lead to procreation,” she said with a small smile.

Dean laughed and picked her up. He carried her down the steps and set her gently in the backseat of his car. “Dean,” she said softly. He turned to her before starting the car. “What if it was a choice between me or the-”

“The car,” he answered simply turning and backing out of the drive-way of the house.

“Yeah, its stuff like that that’ll get you farther and farther from those grandkids,” she said with a laugh.

Sam looked at him. “So wait, if you would choose the car over her and her over me, how high and I on your list.”

Dean just glared at his brother, who gave him a small smile and they continued on their way back to the hotel. That night Dean didn’t sleep. He knew Doyle wasn’t gone, and it wasn’t over. He wouldn’t sleep, not until Doyle was dead. He couldn’t risk it. If he fell asleep, he might lose Abbi again. She lay, on what would be Dean’s bed, as he sat in the chair watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful. Her color was coming back a little bit though she still looked like death.

Straightjacket Feeling ch. 7

2006-01-28T14:44:00.000-08:00

Abbi woke early on the morning of her fourth day there. She opened her eyes but it was a struggle. Her vision blurred easily now. Abbi’s naturally pale skin was now ghostly white. Save breathing and the movement of her eyes, she looked as though she were dead. She was weaker, weaker with every day. She searched the room hoping to find some sort of hope that Dean was there. She’d be happy even if it was just Sam, just as long as it was someone that could get her out of there.

Her eyes stopped on the figure of a man standing by the window. The morning sun lit up his face and he seemed to be almost angelic. Abbi knew differently though. She knew what lurked in the shadows of his heart. Doyle turned to her and smiled. His smile was always a captivating one, made even more appealing by his ‘innocent’ ice blue eyes. He walked slowly over to her bed and sat down beside her, taking her hand and holding it gently. “How are you feeling,” he asked softly. Abbi didn’t answer. She simply stared at him with rage and hatred in her eyes. He smiled at her and tucked her hair behind her ear. “There, there,” he said simply. “It will all be over soon Abbi. I promise.”

Abbi’s stoic face was slowly replaced with a smile. “You don’t know Dean Winchester, Doyle. You don’t know him like I do,” she said simply. “You’ll regret pissing him off.”

“I don’t know Dean Winchester,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t know Dean Winchester? Just like I don’t know John Winchester, or Sam Winchester right,” he asked with a malicious smile. “Or I don’t know Mary Winchester.” He laughed a little. “Abbi, you still don’t understand do you,” he said with a smile. “I made Dean Winchester. Do you think he would be the way he is, so angry, so cold, if his father hadn’t raised him that way? Do you think his father would have raised him like that if Mary hadn’t died the way she did? No, no Abbi, it is not me that doesn’t know Dean Winchester, it’s you.”

She knew, part of her always knew, he had a connection to what killed Mary and now Sam’s girlfriend. Part of her always knew but she thought it was the same kind of connection Sam and Dean had. She always thought that maybe someone close to him was killed the same way. It had never occurred to her that Doyle might have had something to do with Mary’s death, Jess’, the death in Ireland. She never thought about it until that moment.

Doyle smiled and stood slowly. “I’ll regret making him angry? Is that a threat Abbi?” He laughed and leaned against the wall across the room, facing her. “You don’t think that I could easily kill Dean in a heartbeat? It’s really very simple. But I don’t want to kill Dean,” he said with a smile. “No, no, and I won’t kill Dean, just like I won’t kill you. Little Sammy’s going to do all that for me. You know how I don’t like to get my hands dirty.”

“Sam may have issues with Dean but he would never kill Dean, and certainly not me,” she snapped. She scolded herself mentally for how cliché that was.

“Sam loves his brother that is true. Sometimes though, there’s only so much someone can take. Sam loved his father, but he just couldn’t take it anymore. His father’s orders, Dean’s orders, the disappointment. He couldn’t handle it anymore so he killed them,” he said with a smile. He sounded as though he were in the witness stand of a courtroom. “Sam loved Abbi. She had always taken care of him. He loved her, maybe even more than Jessica. He couldn’t stand to see her die so slowly, so painfully. He had to put her out of her misery,” he said. His voice held pain, but his face was full of smiles.

“You think you can make Sam think that? You think you can convince him to kill his brother,” she asked with a bit of a cocky laugh. “You don’t know as much as you think.”

“I don’t think I can make Sam think that. I don’t need to, its already started. They’re from two completely different worlds Abbi. Sam is the bright young scholar with a great life ahead of him. Dean, what does Dean have to his name? He doesn’t even have a name, not one that can be used anyway. The Winchester name has been tarnished since Dean was a child. It was tarnished because of you Abbi,” he said simply. “All of this is because of you. If you hadn’t been there, if you hadn’t come to them that night. Everything would be different. You’ve made my job very hard Abigail,” he said sounding a little disappointed.

“You’re job,” she asked. Her voice shivered as if she were actually afraid. “What job.”

“Yes, Abigail, my job,” he said with a laugh. He walked over to her and stopped at the side of her bed looking down at her. The eyes she had once found so much comfort in were cold and empty. He sighed and slowly sat down on the bed next to her. He tucked her hair behind her head and leaned down. “Abbi you’ll never get better if you keep yelling at me,” he whispered softly. “You need to rest.”

“Dean, you need rest,” Sam insisted once more. It had been a week since Abigail had disappeared. “Dean you’ve hardly had any sleep.” He sighed and sat at the table of the hotel room.

“Sam I have no idea where she is,” he shouted. “Sorry if I’m having a little trouble sleeping. I just keep… I keep-”

“Thinking it was your fault?” Sam looked over at him and shook his head. “You little hypocrite. Its all right for you to lose sleep and blame yourself for killing someone who’s not dead,” Sam shouted standing to his feet. But me, when I could have done something for Jess. I could have told her. She actually died, I saw it, the fire, her face. I can’t lose sleep? I can’t blame myself?”

“Sam,” Dean said with a sigh. He wasn’t in the mood to fight with his brother. “You know that’s not what I-”

“No Dean,” Sam shouted. “All this time you’ve told me not to blame myself. That there was nothing I could have done to help Jess. But that’s not true. I saw it. I saw what happened to her, for weeks before it happened and I didn’t say a word. Now she’s dead and I can’t change that. But Abbi’s not dead Dean! There’s still something you can do but you won’t be able to help her if you’re not strong enough. You need to get rest!”

“Don’t tell me what I need Sam,” Dean shouted. He was cut short though when his cell phone rang. Both Sam and Dean turned to look at it. “Hello,” Dean said when he picked up the phone.

“Dean?” Dean heard a familiar voice on the other end.

“A…. Abbi,” he said with a broken voice. He couldn’t believe he was hearing her voice. “Abbi, where are you,” he said quickly, not knowing how long it would last. “We’ll come for you I swear.”

Upon hearing her name Sam stood straight and walked over to his brother. He watched him worry in his eyes. Sam knew the lies this Doyle guy was capable of. He used Jess’ voice to speak to him.

“Dean,” Abbi whispered on the other end. She was crying, she never cried.

“Abbi you need to think, where are you?

“I… I’m in a room, it… it looks like someone’s…. someone’s bedroom. Its… its dark,” she said softly. She looked around and tried to look out the window, but she could hardly get up. “I… I can… I can see the moon,” she said softly, telling him where the room was in this house. “Its… its old,” she whispered.

“Abbi, are you all right,” he asked worriedly. “Are you safe.”

“I… I can’t move, I’m… I’m tied down. Dean,” she whispered. “I… I’m getting worse. Wh… why now?”

“I don’t know Abbi. I’ll find you,” he whispered. “I promise. Where are you? Do you have any other ideas?”

“I… I don’t think I’m too far from the hospital,” she said softly. “Umm… I can… I can see it through the window. I… I don’t think anyone lives here Dean.” Abbi looked up and saw Doyle walk into the room. He smiled and walked up to him.

“Abbi give me that. Dean,” he said with a smile. However, the voice Dean heard was the voice of his father. “Dean, what are you doing? I trusted you with a job why aren’t you doing it? Abbi’s fine, trust me. She’ll die peacefully,” he said with a laugh. “Well, that’s probably not true. Her body’s slowly deteriorating Dean. She really won’t die peacefully. It will be slow and painful.” He sighed and looked down at Abbi who was crying. “Dean,” he said with his own voice now. “There’s nothing you can do now Dean.” He laughed. “You’re a brave little kid,” he said with a smile. Memories flooded into Dean’s head, memories of the night of the fire. “That’s gotta be pretty scary. But you’re a big kid aren’t you? That your brother over there? I’m sure you’re a great big brother.”

“You’re done now,” Dean said through gritted teeth.

“Did you like the hat Dean?” He laughed. “I’m sure by now you’ve got you’re little brother tracing this call, but honestly Dean, she’s too weak to move. How could she have gotten a phone unless I left it there for her.” He laughed again. The Winchester boys were brilliant in their own right but Doyle couldn’t help but laugh at Dean’s stupidity. “Dean you’re not thinking straight,” he said this time it was the voice of his baby brother speaking to him. “You need rest Dean,” and with that he hung up the phone.

Sam stood a few feet from him, staring at him. “Was it really Abbi,” he asked.

“Yeah,” Dean answered distantly. “That bastard’s gonna die,” he said coldly, turning to his brother. Sam had never seen such a look of pure hatred before in anyone let alone his brother.

Straightjacket Feeling ch. 6

2006-01-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

Abbi woke slowly and opened her eyes. Her head was throbbing and she felt weak. She looked around and found herself in the same room she had been in before. Slowly she tried to sit up, to no avail. “Abigail,” she heard the familiar voice say. She searched the dark room for the voice. “Abbi,” it whispered again.

“Dean,” she whispered searching for her friend. She saw no one and began to think she was going crazy. “Dean,” she called a bit louder. Abbi tried slowly to sit up and move once more but found her legs still bound to the bed. “Dean,” she whispered frantically. Her shaky voice had never let fear like that show.

“Shh,” he whispered still unseen. “Don’t worry Abbi you’re safe now.” With that she laid back down, still frightened. Her terror increased when she saw a man emerge from the shadows. It was not Dean as she had thought.

“B… Braeden,” she whispered. She tried to get away from him as he walked over and sat on the bed next to her but she could not move. “DEAN,” she screamed.

“Shh,” he whispered placing a finger over her lips. “Abbi, be still,” he whispered to her. Braeden’s cold blue eyes stared down at Abbi. She was shaking and she felt his icy hands rest on her shoulders, ‘calming’ her. “Why are you yelling Abbi,” he asked quietly. “I thought you would be happy to see me.” He smiled at her and brushed her long hair out of her face. “I’ve been looking for you for a long time Abbi.”

Again, she struggled to get away from him. “DEAN,” she screamed. Tears filled her innocent brown eyes.

“Shh Abbi,” he whispered placing his finger over her lips once more. “Stop screaming. I’ll have to make you go to sleep again.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child Braeden,” she shouted. He used to do that all the time and she hated it.

“Abbi, calm yourself.” He stood slowly and looked down at her smiling. “You shouldn’t have left Abbi, you were too sick to go anywhere.” He walked over and stood by the window, leaning against the wall. “The Winchester boys will be here soon enough Abigail,” he said with a slight laugh. “It is of no use to call them. Give them time. Dean must get over your death first.”

Terror seized her. She knew exactly what he meant by that and it terrified her. “Dean,” she whispered. “You little bastard,” she said looking at him. She tried to sit up and was rather successful this time. Her success however was short lived for when she woke she found the room spinning and she fell back on her pillow.

Dean sat at the table of their hotel room studying every inch of his father’s journal. He was searching for anything, references to Abbi, letters from her, anything. He sighed when he found very little. He hadn’t slept in over thirty-six hours. “Well, we know she was in Europe,” he sighed. “According to some of Dad’s entries she was doing almost the same exact thing there that we’re doing here.” He sighed and ran his hand over his face trying to wake up. “There really isn’t much else.”

“We’ll find something Dean,” Sam said comfortingly. He sat down at the table across from Dean and took the journal. “Get some sleep Dean,” he said as he red through it. “I’ll look through here.” Dean was reluctant to sleep but he knew he needed it. He slowly rose and walked over to the bed. He was asleep before he even hit the pillow. Sam looked over at his older brother and laughed. Then he turned his attention to their father’s journal. “Come on Dad, give us something,” he mumbled. After several more hours of searching the journal and online he was able to find out a few helpful things. Dean woke early the next morning. “All right,” Sam said turning to his brother. “I found a letter Abbi sent Dad about a year ago,” he said taking out a small folded up piece of paper. “Abbi was working on a lead in Ireland, a lead on mom Dean,” he said looking up at his brother. She had heard reports of an unexplained fire,” he paused and looked through the letter, “Ummm…,” he paused and reread through it. “There was a fire and a woman died. She talked to one of the kids, he was about,” he paused and looked up at Dean. “He was six and he had a little brother that was little over one.” Dean stared at his brother. “While looking through the scene she met Braeden, a police officer investigating the fire. He had heard from the boy what had happened. The boy claimed that he heard his mother scream and ran out of his room into his little brother’s room. Then he found his mom on the ceiling and the room caught on fire. He picked up his little brother and ran. Ummm,” he paused. “I guess their father had left right after the youngest was born. Anyway, she asked Doyle what he thought of it all and he said that it was plausible. I guess since then they’ve been lookin’ for this thing like we are.”

Dean sat there in amazement for a long time. “Doyle,” he whispered as memories of their childhood came back to him. “There was a firefighter at the house, the night mom died. He gave me his hat. His name was Doyle.” Dean looked up at his brother. “Sam, whoever took Abbi knew about how mom died. Maybe… maybe this Doyle guy knows something about it.” There was a new hope in Dean’s eyes. “What happened to the kids?”

“Doesn’t say. It just says that Abbi came back about a week later to check on them and they were gone,” Sam answered placing the letter back on the table. “It does fit doesn’t it? I mean, the man that called last night definitely had an Irish accent. But, if this Doyle guy had something to do with mom’s death wouldn’t Abbi have known? Why would Abbi have been with him?”

“She probably didn’t know Sam,” Dean answered softly. “The name Doyle is just another name to Abbi, she wasn’t with me when I talked to the firefighter, she was with you and Dad.”

“So what should we do,” Sam asked.

Dean paused and tried to think. “I can call in a few favors; figure out where the call to your cell phone really came from. We should talk to any attendants that were on Abbi’s floor last night; see if they saw anything. After that, all we can do is try to fit pieces together to find her. I don’t think she’s dead Sammy,” he said simply. “I think whoever this guy is; he’s trying to get to us. He’ll keep her alive.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Where was the fire?”

“She doesn’t get much more specific than Cork, Ireland,” Sam answered. He looked at his brother. “Check to see if there was a Braeden Doyle on the police force last year. I can do that now.” Sam opened his laptop and sat there for a few moments. Then he looked over to his brother with a small smile. “Nope,” he said simply. “I looked up information about the fire too. It seems that before that night no one had ever seen this Doyle guy before.”

Dean laughed and Sam looked at him questioningly. “Abbi was always obsessed with what names mean. She told me what Doyle means. It’s just ironic.”

“Why,” Sam asked.

“According to Abbi anyway the name Doyle means ‘dark foreigner’. Fits don’t you think,” he said with a laugh.

Sam laughed and closed the laptop. “Let’s go see if we can find anyone that was working at the hospital last night.” With that, the two brothers got up and headed out the door.

They didn’t get much help from workers at the hospital. Though someone told them that earlier that evening a man had come in looking for Abbi. He told the man what room Abbi was in but then as he was telling Sam and Dean he remembered that he never saw the man leave the room, shortly after that the fire started. Sam and Dean thanked the attendant for the help and went back to Dean’s car. “Well, its obvious that this Braeden Doyle took her the only question now is where,” Sam said leaning against the car.

Almost the instant Sam said that Sam’s cell phone rang. “Hello,” he asked. Sam’s eyes widened as he heard the voice on the other end. His heart raced and he looked as though he would cry. Dean watched in wonder, ready to kill anything that would hurt Abbi or Sam. Sam’s words were faint, almost inaudible. “Jess,” he whispered as he dropped the phone.

Dean caught it as it fell. “Hello,” he said quickly but whoever it was had already hung up. He looked at Sam who seemed to be in shock. “Sammy,” he said shaking his brother. “Sam what is it?”

“Dean,” he said softly. “Whoever… this Doyle guy is… he’s not human.” Dean stared at him for a moment. “I know it was him speaking to me, somewhere in my mind I know Dean. But… the voice… the voice wasn’t his, it was Jess’.”

Dean stared at his brother for a moment and looked down. “Don’t worry Sam,” Dean said placing a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “We’ll get him.” He paused and looked around. “What did he say,” Dean asked.

“He uhh… he said that Abbi was being taken care of and was safe. He said she was sleeping.” Sam paused and leaned against the car again. “He said she would stay asleep until we find her which means he’s drugging her or something. The only problem is we have no idea where she is.”

Straightjacket Feeling ch. 5

2006-01-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

“Sam, she can’t be gone,” he said standing up. “She could hardly keep her eyes open. There’s no way she could have walked out of there, much less snuck out of there.” Dean was now pacing around the room. He had his fingers laced together with his hands behind his head, a gesture his younger brother made more often than he did.

“That’s what they told me Dean,” Sam said with a sigh as he sat down on the end of the bed. Their roles had changed and Sam was beginning to notice that. Dean was usually the calm one sitting on the end of the bed while Sam paced, now Dean was pacing and Sam was sitting. It didn’t make much sense to Sam. “Dean, calm down,” Sam said firmly. Was Sam giving out orders now too? He stood quickly to get rid of the odd feeling in the pit of his stomach he was getting watching Dean pace. “Dean, stop you’re gonna make me sick,” he said as he grabbed his older, shorter, brother by his shoulders to stop his movement.

“Someone must have taken her Sammy,” he said turning around to face his brother.

“Dean,” Sam said firmly once more. “Calm. Down.” He sighed and sat down on the end of the bed once more. “Who would have taken Abbi? She has no enemies right? I mean she hasn’t been hunting with you guys in a long time right? She hasn’t gone on a job with you or Dad since when?”

“Not since a year or so after you left for college,” he said simply. “She got separated from us on a job overseas. You know her and her love for that whole Europe thing,” he said with a laugh. “I called her as soon as it was done and she said she was fine. She asked if we minded letting her stay there for a while and we said sure. Actually, Dad insisted on it. He said it was safer, now I know why. She must have shown signs of getting weaker or something.” He sighed and sat down on the end of the other bed. He ran his hands through his short hair and along his face, trying to think of something. “I called her a couple times after that but about two or three months before I got you we lost contact with her. I hadn’t seen her until today.”

“You think she made some enemies overseas,” Sam asked just as confused and baffled as Dean was.

“I don’t know. She seemed a little tenser in the car today, and she’s never yelled at me like that before.”

“Not true Dean,” Sam corrected quickly. “You’ve never yelled at her like that.” Sam gave him a cocky smile and then looked away when he saw the seriousness of his older brother’s face. He sighed and ran his hands through his dark hair, the same way Dean had. “Do you know of anyone she had contact with overseas? Where she was? What she was doing?”

“No,” Dean said with a sigh. “Dad had all that stuff with him. And I don’t remember him ever writing it down.” He got up and walked over to the table where their father’s journal lay open. He flipped through the pages looking for something that might lead to Abbi. “I can’t find anything,” he said with a sigh. “Here,” he said quickly. He pointed to a page of notebook paper in the journal. It had some small scribbles on it Dean could barely make out. “It says she stayed in Ireland for a little bit, doesn’t say where.” He sighed and threw the journal down on the table in frustration after a moment of reading. “Doesn’t say she was involved in anything other than some small journalistic jobs in Dublin,” he said with a sigh.

“A journalist can make some pretty bad enemies,” Sam said arching a brow at his brother.

“Enemies that would fly all the way here to kidnap her from a hospital there’s no way they could know she was in,” he asked leaning back in the chair.

“Good point,” Sam sighed as he turned around and retook his position on the bed. “Maybe we should go to the hospital and see if there’s anything there that might help,” Sam suggested.

“Sure,” Dean said with a sigh. He put his blue jacket on over the same grey t-shirt he had been wearing for nearly six months. He put his boots on and stood, picking up his keys and turned to Sam who was still changing. “Sammy, come on,” he hurried.

“I’m coming,” Sam snapped as he tied his shoes. He stood and grabbed his jacket as they walked out the door.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abbi slowly began to reenter the world of the conscious. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked around the room. It was dark and her vision was still blurry. She sat up slowly and looked around. The only light came from a window across the room. Finally, her eyes began to adjust to the darkness. She was fine until she realized she wasn’t in the hospital anymore and she began to panic. She looked around, trying to guess where she was. She went to walk over to the window but found her legs were strapped to the bed. Her heart began to race. “Dean,” she whispered but no actual sound came out. She heard footsteps outside her door. She laid back down as the door slowly opened and she shut her eyes, pretending she was still unconscious.

She couldn’t tell who had come into the room. All she could hear was the sound of boots against the hardwood floor. She tried to slow her breathing and heart rate so it wasn’t obvious she was awake. “You can open your eyes,” she heard a man’s voice say. The voice sounded somewhat familiar but she couldn’t place it. She opened her eyes slowly. That did nothing to help her see who it was. It was far too dark for her to see anything but a silhouette. “Do you take me for an idiot Abigail,” the man asked.

She looked at him confused. Her hands were shaking and tears were forming in her eyes, but she was stronger than to let herself cry. “Who are you,” she asked strongly. She was surprised her voice could sound like that, given her current situation.

The man simply laughed and let the blinds drop ridding the room of what little light it had. Abbi’s heart raced and she clenched her fists trying to calm herself. “Who am I,” he asked still laughing. The man sat down on the edge of the bed, next to Abbi. “Abbi, what kind of a question is that,” he asked brushing the girl’s hair from her face. She turned her head quickly away from him. His voice was so familiar but she couldn’t place it. “Shhh,” the man whispered placing a finger over Abbi’s lips. “Now’s not talking time for you Abs,” he said with a smile.

She cringed at the name. Only one person had ever called her that, and that was Dean. That didn’t make sense, the voice wasn’t Dean’s voice. She knew Dean’s voice, this man had an Irish accent anyway. Who was it? “Abbi, don’t be afraid,” the man whispered taking Abbi’s trembling hand. Abbi tried to fight and pull her hand away but he tightened his grip and she was in no shape to fight. Her head was beginning to hurt and her vision blurred slightly. “Shh,” the man whispered. “Its time to sleep now Abbi,” he said as he took out a small needle from his pocket. He removed the cap and straightened her arm. Then he slowly inserted the needle into her arm and sent whatever was inside coursing through her bloodstream. Her vision had just come back into focus. The man leaned forward and before she could see his face, her world went black. “Good night my princess,” the man whispered kissing Abbi lightly on the forehead.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam and Dean got to the hospital just in time to find the police there. “Can I help you sir,” one officer asked.

Dean looked down at the tag on the man’s uniform. “Not really officer,” he read the name on the tag, “Rowland,” he said with a smartass smile.

“I can’t let you in there sir,” Officer Rowland said stepping in front of Dean.

“Why not?”

“This is a crime scene sir can’t you see,” he asked pointing around at all the tape.

Sam and Dean exchanged glances. “Crime scene,” Dean asked trying to hide the worry in his voice. “What kind of crime?”

“Arson,” the officer answered. “Now if you don’t mind I need you two to step back please.”

“Arson,” Dean said quickly.

“We came responding to a call from a staff member here,” Sam interrupted. Dean looked over at his younger brother questioningly. “One of the attendants called and told me that my dear sister-in-law went missing. I called up my brother and we came to find out what we could. You see, my brother’s wife has Leukemia and when he saw her last, not more than a few hours ago she could hardly stay conscious for very long. We came by to find out how she got out.”

“Yeah,” Dean piped up.

“Wait right here sirs,” the officer said. He turned and walked back to a group of other officers.

Dean turned quickly to his brother and pushed him back slightly. “Sister-in-law,” Dean asked.

“Well they have on record that Abbi’s an orphan with no siblings so immediate family couldn’t work. Plus cousins wouldn’t be close enough for something like this,” Sam answered.

The officer returned and both boys turned to face him. “Abigail Murphy,” the man asked looking at a chart in his hands.

“Yeah, that’s my baby,” Dean said with a smile that was more real than he meant it to be. Sam merely rolled his eyes.

“It doesn’t say anything about a spouse,” the officer said.

The boys were caught off guard. Dean answered quickly though. “We haven’t actually gotten married yet,” he said blushing slightly. “We were supposed to be getting married in a couple of weeks actually,” he said beaming. Sam was beginning to think Dean was getting a bit carried away.

“Really,” the officer said with a somewhat sad face.

“What,” Dean asked turning ghostly pale. Sam could see the terror in his eyes.

“Well the fire started in her room,” the officer said simply. “The firefighters weren’t able to recover a body there was too much damage to the room. They found her hospital band though,” he said handing the charred plastic band to Dean. “I’m terribly sorry Mr….”

“Winchester,” Sam answered for his brother.

“I’m sorry Mr. Winchester. I’ll let you know if we find out anything new.” The officer left to go look around the site.

Sam looked down at his brother who was staring at the band in his hand. It looked for a moment as if he wasn’t breathing. “Dean,” Sam asked after a moment. This was what Sam had feared since they brought her in. Dean shouldn’t lose her like this. It wasn’t fair. Dean looked up at his brother slowly. There were tears in his eyes, though he tried to look strong. He clenched his fist around the Abbi’s hospital bracelet. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to Sam understood. He wrapped his arms around his brother and felt Dean’s body begin to tremble. “I’m sorry Dean,” he said quietly. He didn’t know what else to say. Dean’s body began to quake as he was unable to hold back the pain inside him any longer. Sam could hear his brother’s heartbroken sobs. He felt so helpless and wondered if this is how Dean felt with Sam after Jess died.

Straightjacket Feeling ch. 4

2006-01-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

“Something Dean, anything,” Sam said simply. “Don’t just leave her here.” He sighed once more. He remembered just as well as Dean the look on Abbi’s face when she was taken away. “She needs you Dean,” he said simply. “Are you just going to abandon her?”

“What the hell am I supposed to say to her Sam,” he shouted turning to his brother. “Answer me that? I don’t know what I’m doing here,” he shouted. For the first time he let his brother see his pain. “How do I help her,” he said slowly sitting down in a chair. “I can’t save her like I did you Sammy,” he said looking over at his brother. This was almost impossible for Dean to comprehend. “Why couldn’t it have been a demon or something? Why couldn’t it have been something I can fight?”

“Dean Winchester,” a soft voice came from the desk nearby. Dean looked up towards the nurse that was standing there. “Miss Murphy’s asking for you,” she said kindly with a smile on her face.

Dean’s heart stopped and his breath caught in his throat. He looked over at Sam and Sam just nodded in the direction of Abbi’s room. “I’ll wait out here,” he said quietly.

Dean nodded and slowly rose to his feet. He stood there for a long time then followed the nurse into Abbi’s room. She was lying on the bed hooked up to all sorts of machines that Dean didn’t know what they were for. She had an IV and was hooked up to a heart monitor. Dean knew that much. He stared at her, standing in the doorway. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. She looked so fragile. It was nothing like the Abbi he knew. She was still very pale and dark circles encompassed her eyes. After a moment, Dean took a few steps forward and stopped next to Abbi’s bed. It took a long time for him to smile. She knew he was hurting. She knew John hadn’t told him. She had been with the Winchesters her whole life. It would have been to hard on him for watch his son grieve like that for her.

“I… I wanted to tell you Dean,” she said quietly. Though Dean didn’t realize it she could see his anger in his eyes. She always knew how Dean felt, even when Dean didn’t know. Dean slowly reached down and took her hand. After a moment, he pulled a chair over and sat down next to her bed.

“Did the doctors say how bad it was,” he asked trying to be strong. He thought it was embarrassing crying in front of Sam he couldn’t bear being weak in front of her. She shook her head slowly and closed her eyes. He watched her in silence for a long time, holding her hand. He had never really realized what she meant to him, not even when she was separated.

Sam stood in the doorway watching them. It was obvious that Abbi had fallen asleep. Dean didn’t know Sam was there. He tightened his hand around Abbi’s. “You can’t leave me now Abbi,” he whispered brushing her hair out of her face. “Not now when I have no one left.” A small shock of pain went through Sam’s heart when he heard that. He knew Dean was talking about their dad but it still hurt to hear him say that.

Dean rested his head on her bed and shut his eyes tightly. He finally broke down. Sam watched from the doorway as his brother’s body trembled and he heard his brother’s cries. He never thought he would see Dean break down like that. After a few moments, Sam went back out to the waiting room and sat back down. His mind traveled back to Jessica’s death. That had destroyed Sam. He didn’t want Dean to have to go through that. He knew it was something completely different with Abbi but still he could see the same pain in Dean’s eyes that had been in his when Jess died.

Dean finally came out into the waiting room and stopped a few feet from Sam. Dean’s eyes were empty. Sam knew that feeling all too well. Sam got up and walked over to his brother. “Dean I’m so sorry,” he said as he wrapped his arms around his brother. “I wish there was something I could do.”

Dean just turned and began to walk out of the hospital. “Where are you going,” Sam asked as he ran after him.

“Get a room before it gets too late,” he said simply. Sam was relieved by that. The two brothers got into Dean’s car and drove to a nearby hotel. They got a room and carried their stuff in. Dean got in the shower and Sam sat on the bed with his laptop. He figured since there were there he might as well look up and see if there was anything in the town that could keep Dean distracted for a while. Sam found a few local stories but nothing solid.

After a while Dean came out of the bathroom, wearing his blue jeans and went searching through his bag for a shirt. “Dean,” Sam asked looking over at his brother. Sam had just noticed something about his brother that was a bit disturbing. “Do you have any other pants?”

“What,” Dean said looking up at Sam. That was an unusual question. “Of course I do,” he answered defensively. “These are just my favorite.”

“Right,” Sam said with a nod as he went back to what he had been doing. Dean put his shirt on and fell backwards down on the other bed.

“Find anything,” he asked looking over at his brother. He assumed that was what Sam had been doing.

“Nothing worth checking out,” Sam said disappointedly.

Once they were settled in Dean called the hospital to let them know a number they could call if they needed anything. It was about three o’clock that morning when Dean’s cell phone rang. It woke Sam up but Dean had been so used to it he slept through it. “Dean,” Sam whispered trying to wake up his brother. “Dean,” he said a bit louder. Finally he just decided to answer the phone. “Hello,” he said with a groggy voice. “What,” he said sitting up straight. “Yeah.” Then he hung up the phone and jumped out of bed. “Dean wake up,” he said shaking his brother.

“Wha…,” Dean said slowly opening his eyes. He looked up at saw Sam standing over him. Then he turned and looked at the clock. “Sam, this better be good.”

“Abbi’s gone,” Sam said quickly. Dean went ghostly white. That was when Sam realized what Dean was thinking. “No, no,” he said quickly. “Not dead Dean. Gone, as in not in the hospital anymore.”

“What,” he said sitting up quickly. “That’s impossible she could barely stay awake more than a few minutes. There’s no way she could have gotten out of there unless someone took her.” Worry and dread filled Dean. Who would take her? Why would they take her?

Straightjacket Feeling ch. 3

2005-12-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

Six months later…… (still in their childhood)

The Winchesters were fast asleep in a new home. Dean had to share a room with his baby brother, much to his discontent. John Winchester, the boys’ father was asleep in the living room when he was woken suddenly by a pounding on the door. He got up, hand on his shot gun, and walked to the door. He looked out the window and saw no one. Then there was another pounding. He opened the door slowly and looked out, making sure to keep the gun concealed so he had the element of surprise. He looked down and slowly set the gun so it was leaning against the wall and opened the door all the way. Standing before him was a little girl with tears in her eyes.

He knelt down in front of her and comfortingly placed his hands on her shoulders. John’s eldest son stood at the top of the stairs watching in silence. The girl had seen him but made not acknowledgment of it. “What’s wrong Abbi,” he asked quietly. “What happened?”

“G… gone,” she whispered through her loud childish sobs. “They’re gone. It’s not fair.” She leaned forward and buried her head in John Winchester’s shoulder, crying her eyes out.

“Who’s gone,” he asked wrapping his arms around her and patting her on the back to comfort her. The child’s body trembled in his arms.

“My… my mommy and daddy,” she said quietly. The first thing that ran through John’s mind was his wife. “I… I was in be… bed,” she said quietly. “Rachel was downstairs.” Rachel was a local girl that did a lot of babysitting for the Foresters and Winchesters. “I… I heard the phone ring. A… a few minutes later Rachel came upstairs. She thought I was asleep but I wasn’t. I… she called her mom and told her that’s how I found out. I climbed out my window,” she said looking up at the man. “I don’t want to go home alone,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“Shh,” he whispered picking her up. He closed the door and turned around, noticing his eldest son standing at the top of the stairs. He wanted to tell Dean to go back to bed but he knew his son wouldn’t listen. “Come on down here Dean,” he said motioning for his son to join him. Dean ran down the stairs and walked behind his father looking up at Abbi the whole way to the living room. John put Abbi on the couch and sat down on a chair nearby as Dean sat down next to his best friend.

“Dad,” he asked quietly. He didn’t understand what was happening. Abbi was asleep, curled up in a ball with her head on Dean’s lap.

John watched them for a long time before speaking. He knew he should call Rachel, let her know what’s going on before she got scared. Though, Abbi had run off before when Rachel was babysitting her. Abbi always came to the Winchester’s. He couldn’t put her into a foster home or adoption agency. It wasn’t fair to her and she was special. She may be helpful when she gets older. “Dean,” he said quietly, looking over at his son. “Abbi’s going to be staying with us for a while all right?” Dean nodded slowly and looked down at Abbi.

Four Years Later……

“Sammy, stop that,” a ten year old girl’s voice whined. Abbi looked down at the child seat next to her. The five year old’s hand kept reaching for Abbi’s long brown hair. “Sammy,” she snapped again as he pulled at her hair. When she heard a laugh from the older boy next to her she turned to him and smacked him. “Shut up Dean,” she yelled. “Ow, Sammy will you grow up?” She sighed. “Mr. Winchester, tell Sammy to stop pulling my hair.”

“Sammy,” his father said in a stern voice. “Don’t make me come back there. Leave her alone.” Sam made a sound that resembled a whine and Abbi turned to him sticking her tongue out at him. “Abigail Renee Murphy,” he shouted from the front seat. “I saw that too.” She made a pouting face and crossed her arms angrily. John Winchester looked through the mirror and laughed. After that it was quiet for a long time. Dean was staring out the window. He hadn’t said anything in a while, which meant he was either bored of tired. John could never tell. Abbi saw the look of wonder on John’s face, through the mirror.

“He’s tired,” she said simply. She could always seem to tell what Dean was thinking or feeling. John smiled and rolled his eyes. He wondered how long a life like this would keep the kids together. She smiled and rested her head on Dean’s shoulder. He looked down at her then back out the window as both of them drifted off to sleep.

Two Years Later……

“Daddy,” Sammy’s small seven year old voice called from his bedroom. Abbi, who was three rooms away, woke instantly. She had gotten so used to Sammy’s nightmares. Dean was still fast asleep.

She walked into Sammy’s room and sat down next to him on the bed. “What’s wrong Sammy,” she asked. It was obvious Sam’s dad didn’t hear him or hadn’t realized it yet. She wrapped her arms around Sam and looked down at him.

“I’m scared,” he whispered. He curled up by her and began to cry. He was a very fragile boy; she was beginning to notice that.

“Shhh, it’s okay Sammy,” she whispered rocking him back and forth. “Your brother and father and me are here to protect you,” she said with a smile looking down at him. “You have nothing to be afraid of.”

Finally Sammy’s father came into the room. “What’s wrong Sammy,” he asked. He saw Abbi in the bed. “Why don’t you go get back to be Abbi?” She nodded and let go of the clinging child.

“Goodnight Sammy,” she said as she left the room.

“What’s wrong Sammy,” John asked as he sat on the end of Sammy’s bed.

“I’m scared.”

“Here,” he said taking a small knife out of his the drawer in Sam’s bedside table. Then he stood and walked out of the room. “Good night Sammy,” he said smiling. “I love you.”

Abbi watched from her room, the door was just cracked open. She looked down at Dean who was sleeping. That’s when it started, or at least when she realized it. Dean was more than just her best friend. She looked back out of the cracked door and watched Sam sit there on his bed, holding the knife tightly. She felt so bad for the poor boy. “He’ll be all right,” a voice from behind her said. She turned to Dean and sighed.

“It’s not fair to him Dean,” she said quietly.

Three Years Later…..

“You little cheater,” she shouted as she ran after Dean. The Winchesters had been on the road for a month now. They were in the middle of Kansas, heading home when they stopped for a break to stretch their legs. It was mostly for the kids. John Winchester sat in the car and watched the three of them in the field. They were running around playing Tag.

“I am not,” he said laughing as he caught her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You’re just slow,” he said with a smile as he looked down at her. This was the most normal any of them had been in ten years. Dean smiled and lightly kissed her cheek.

“Ewww,” Sam yelled. “Dad, they’re kissing!” he yelled back to his father. John laughed.

“Shut up Sammy,” Dean said looking down at his little brother. “You’ll understand when you’re older.” As Dean was talking Abbi managed to wriggle herself from his grip and turned to face him. A small devilish smile crossed her lips.

“Tag,” she said smacking his arm and running away from him. He laughed and ran after Sam. Sam screamed and ran away. They both stopped suddenly though when they saw Abbi collapse. “Abbi,” Dean screamed running to her side. John also saw it and got out of the car as fast as he could. He ran over to where the kids were and picked her up. He drove her to the hospital. Sam and Dean watched as the doctor talked to their father. Dean was terrified, and it showed. John walked back to the boys. He couldn’t tell him, not Dean anyway. “Heat exhaustion,” he said simply to the boys. “It’s a good thing we have a long rest coming up.”

Later that day when Abbi was able to be discharged John walked up to the front desk. The secretary there told him he wasn’t able to take her. She was a minor and under the custody of the State of Kansas. He fought for hours with people via phone or face to face conversations and they all said the same thing. A social worker came and took Abbi. Dean watched, staring speechless as they took Abbi away. Abbi was screaming and she tried to run to Dean but she couldn’t get away. As soon as she was gone Dean fell to his knees and cried. Sam watched in confusion. He didn’t really understand what was going on. He knelt down next to his brother and placed a comforting hand on Dean’s shoulder.

Present Time

“Heat exhaustion my ass,” Dean said bitterly. He turned to his brother who seemed utterly confused. “You remember when she collapsed when we were playing tag when you were kid? We had to take her to the hospital and that’s how she got taken away? Tell me you remember that, you were ten.” Sam nodded reluctantly. “Dad lied to me Sam,” he said coldly. As far as he knew, his father had never lied to him. Not even about what really happened to their mother. “He said it was heat exhaustion.”

“Maybe that’s what the doctors thought it was Dean,” Sam said simply. “They didn’t have the same kind of diagnostic technology then.”

“It’s in her records Sam,” he said simply. “That’s what the doctor just said. He asked if I knew.” Dean sighed and looked down. He chewed at his lower lip for a moment in frustration. “She knew, and Dad knew and no one ever once told me.”

Sam didn’t know what to say. He knew that had to be painful but he still didn’t think it was right for Dean to just leave her like that. He tried to imagine what she must have felt ten years ago when she was taken by the state. “Dean,” he said trying to console his brother. “Maybe she thought you knew. Maybe she thought Dad told you. Its not something that comes up in normal conversation.”

“There’s that word again Sam,” he said coldly. “There’s a lot of things that don’t come up in normal conversation. Like your mother attached to the ceiling then spontaneously combusting. Those things come up in our conversations.”

“Still, Leukemia would have been a little strange, even for our family. Can you imagine how hard that must have been?” He sighed and lowered his head. He hated his brother’s stubbornness. “Damn it Dean,” he said quickly. “Don’t leave her like Dad left,” he said quietly. He knew he would regret that statement but it had to be said.

To Sam’s surprise, Dean didn’t say anything. In fact, Dean was silent for a long time. He slowly looked up at his brother after a few long minutes. “What am I supposed to say to her Sam?”

Straightjacket Feeling ch. 2

2005-12-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

Dean checked his mirror as well and stopped the car. The road was empty so he didn’t worry about traffic. He turned and looked out the back window. Sure enough, Sam was right. Abbi was no where to be found. He pulled over and got out of the car without even turning it off. Sam turned off the car and took the keys, getting out as well. Dean ran down the road to the last place they had seem Abbi. “ABBI,” he screamed. Sam could hear the worry in his voice. Dean’s heart was racing along with his mind. He had no idea where she went. He was beginning to worry she wasn’t even real. “Abbi,” he shouted again.

“Dean,” Sam shouted from down the hill. Dean ran to the edge of the hill. At the bottom was Sam standing over a body.

“Abbi,” he screamed as he ran down the hill. As soon as he got to her he knelt down and picked her up in his arms. Her skin was cold and deathly pale. “Wake up,” he whispered. “Wake up,” he said again. His voice was shaking. Sam could hear it. He tried to think of something to do but his mind was at a loss. Dean pulled Abbi close to him and rocked back and forth. “Wake up,” he said again. Sam tried desperately to figure out what might have happened to her. Dean picked her up and headed up the hill. Sam followed close behind him.

“She needs to get to a hospital.”

“I know Sam,” he shouted. He looked down at Abbi’s pale limp body. “Hold on,” he whispered to her. He set her gently in the back seat of the car. Once both the boys were in the car Dean tore down the road.

“Dean the next town’s not for another hour.”

“I know Sam,” he yelled through gritted teeth as he drove faster down the empty road. Finally, they got to a hospital. He ran into the emergency room carrying her. The doctors took her and told Dean and Sam to wait there.

Sam sat there and stared into space. Dean paced back and forth in front of Sam. Sam never saw Dean like this before. After a few more hours, Sam had fallen asleep, the doctor came out. Dean walked up to him. There was a somber look on his face. Dean paled as he walked up to the doctor. Sam woke slowly and watched without moving. He didn’t want Dean to have to go through what he was going through. The doctor walked away after a moment and Dean walked back to Sam. His face was stolid. Sam stood to look his brother in the eye. “Dean?” He didn’t say anything for a long time. Sam began to get worried. Dean fell into the chair and ran his hand though his hair. “Dean,” Sam said once more as he sat down next to his older brother. “What is it? Is she all right?”

“She’s dying,” he said quietly. His voice was empty, like he had died.

“What?” Sam paused and looked at the pain in his brother’s eyes. “Dean, this isn’t your fault. We’ll find whatever did this to her just like we’ll find what killed mom and Jess.”

“It’s not that simple Sam,” he snapped turning his head towards his brother. “We can’t find what did this to her because nothing did.” Sam’s look of worry turned to confusion. “She has Leukemia,” he said quietly. Sam hadn’t been ready for that. All of the tragedy in the Winchester boys’ lives had come from something otherworldly. This was different. He looked over at his brother again.

Dean was lost. Sam could see it in his eyes. Demons, monster, ghosts, spirits, anything like that Dean could handle but this was beyond Dean’s control. Dean hated not having some form of control over a situation. That is what had angered him so much with the shape-shifter. This though, was completely out of Dean’s hands. “I… I don’t know what to say Dean,” Sam said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Let’s go,” he said getting up and putting his jacket on. “We still have to find Dad.”

Sam stood as well but he didn’t move to leave. “Dean,” he said sternly. “That’s not fair to her. She needs someone right now and you’re just going to walk away from her?”

Dean turned back to Sam and looked him dead in the eyes. “She didn’t need me before she doesn’t need me now. Let’s go Sam.”

“No Dean,” Sam shouted. “This isn’t fair to her. You can’t just leave her alone like this. When she’s finds out-”

“She knows,” he shouted back at his brother. “What they did wasn’t fair to me.”

Nov. 2, 1983
Young Dean Winchester was fast asleep in his bedroom, tucked away safely under his blanket. He was torn suddenly from his dreams by a scream. He got up quickly and, almost instinctively, went to the window. Down in the back yard, looking up at him stood the small six year old figure of his closest friend. She had her arms wrapped around herself as if she were cold. It hadn’t begun to get that cold yet this year and Dean wondered why she looked so scared. He ran out of his room and stopped almost instantly when he saw the flames come from his baby brother’s room. He took a little step forward and peaked into the room. What he saw would haunt him for the rest of his life. He could barely make it out among the flames but it was definitely his mother. She was pinned to the ceiling with a look of pure horror on her pale face. The image was soon blocked out as his father came running out of the room. He handed Dean’s baby brother to him and told him to take Sammy and keep him safe. Dean nodded and ran out of the house to the backyard where Abbi stood. She stared at him, fear in her innocent eyes. Sammy began to cry but Dean didn’t notice. Within a few minutes Dean’s father came up and ran up behind him. “Abbi,” he said concerned. “What are you doing here?”

She continued to stare at Dean as if she didn’t hear his father. Then after a moment her head slowly raised, starting with her eyes. “I didn’t want Dean to get scared,” she said in her quiet voice. John Winchester looked at Abbi suspiciously. It was a judgment that would never change in the coming years. Abbi slowly looked down and met Dean’s eyes once more. The children that were Dean Winchester and Abbi Murphy died that night. No matter how immature Dean may have become that was the night he lost his innocence, and he would never be the same.

Straightjacket Feeling

2005-12-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

Dislcaimer: I do not own Supernatural nor the characters within this story. The only character of my own creation is Abbi Murphy.

Notes: This takes place between the episodes "Bugs" and "Home" though it may eventually overlap with "Home".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Try this on,
Straightjacket feeling,
So maybe I won't be alone
Take back now
My life you're stealing."
~"Straightjacket Feeling" (The All-American Rejects)

Dean Winchester sat in the driver’s seat of his baby, his dearest ’67 Chevrolet Impala. He looked over at Sam who, as usual, was sitting in silence staring out the window. “What could possibly be that interesting,” he asked. “All we’ve seen for the past eight hours is corn, corn, and more corn.”

Sam turned his head toward his older brother and gave him a small laugh. He knew Dean knew what he was thinking so he didn’t bother to answer. “How long,” he asked simply.

“Another hour or so,” Dean answered turning his head back to the road. His mind was elsewhere as well. That was, until Sam spoke again.

“Dean,” Sam said quickly. Dean turned to his brother and saw what Sam was looking at. There was a car pulled off to the side of the road, smoke emanating from underneath the hood. It wasn’t something unnatural but Dean felt the need to stop and help. That need mostly came when he saw the driver. He pulled up behind the car. Standing and leaning against the driver’s side door was a young woman. She had long brown hair that was pulled back. She wore a black tank top and blue jeans with an old pair of tennis shoes. Nothing too extraordinary, Sam wondered why Dean was so willing to help.

“Can we offer you a hand,” he asked getting out of the car. Sam got out of the car still confused, and a little worried. Dean never stopped unless he had a reason. What was his reason? She wasn’t exceptionally “hot”, not in Sam’s opinion anyway.

The woman turned toward them and smiled. “Well, well stranger,” she said with a smile walking up to him and throwing her arms around his neck. She stopped when she saw Sam. She stared at him. Sam looked around a little uncomfortable. “Oh my God,” she said walking up to him. “Sammy Winchester,” she asked. “Holy crap.”

“Hey,” Dean said sounding insulted. She turned to him and gave him some look that made him smirk, but Sam couldn’t see it.

“You’ve gotten… tall,” she said still amazed. “He’s taller than you Dean.”

Sam gave Dean a look telling him he had no idea what was going on. “Sammy, you remember Abbi right.”

Sam looked down and stared. He hadn’t seen her since he was little. How could he forget her? Dean and she were inseparable as children. Their dad said that they had been best friends since their mom took Dean to the park one day when he was around two and they started playing together. Her parents died in a car accident not long after their mom died. Their dad took her in for a while before the government finally caught up with him and but her in foster care when she was fifteen. Sam remembered Dean being devastated. It was the only time he had seen his brother cry. She looked so different now. “Wow,” he said quietly. He looked over at Dean.

“She found Dad and me until just after you left for school.” He nodded with a small smile. Then he walked over to the car and opened the hood, the smoke had faded by then. “What did you do to this thing Abbi,” he whined. “It’s ok,” he said to the car. “I’m gonna fix you up.”

She rolled her eyes and sat down on the hood of Dean’s car. He looked around her car and saw her. He opened his mouth to say something but she interrupted him. “You want to come over here and make me,” she snapped. With that he went back to what he was doing. Sam laughed. Dean never was able to fight her. They fought a lot but she always managed to win. It was actually rather amusing. “So how’s college life been treating you Sammy?”

“Sam,” he corrected her quietly.

“Wow, we’ve finally graduated from first grade,” she said with a laugh. “All right then, Sam.”

“It’s been good.” His voice was distant as he spoke. She could tell his mind was elsewhere. She had seen that look so often with Dean. He really missed his brother when Sam left for college.

“Why aren’t you there,” she asked. She knew it had something to do with Dean. She remembered hearing about the fight they had before Sam left. He swore he’d have nothing to do with hunting. When Dean told her that, she broke out laughing. She knew it was part of who Sam Winchester was, just like it was a part of who Dean Winchester was. He’d never get away from it and she told Dean that. Those words have haunted Dean for the past few months, since he pulled Sam back into this.

“Long story,” Sam said simply.

Then she looked around and noticed they were missing a Winchester. “Dean,” she shouted. “Where’s you dad?” There was a short pause. “Dean watch i”

“Damn,” Dean shouted as the hood of the car fell and hit his head. “What,” he said looking at her as he closed the hood of her car. He walked back to her rubbing the top of his head to ease the pain.

“Where’s your dad,” she asked. She looked around and inside the car there was only two when there should be three.

“That’s why Sam’s here really,” Dean answered. “Dad went missing a few months ago.” Dean stopped when he noticed Abbi’s face turn ghostly white. “What?”

“Do… do you remember what I told you the night your mom died,” she asked quietly. Dean nodded. How could he forget? “I heard them again a few months ago. They were there for about a week, the laughing the whispers. Then one night I heard the screaming.” She was terribly worried it was their dad. Dean’s response however confused her even more.

“Jess,” Sam and Dean said at the same time.

“Jess,” she asked. “Who’s Jess?”

“Jess is my girlfriend,” Sam answered quietly. “Wa… was my girlfriend.” She turned to him and realized that’s why he was there. She wasn’t going to make him retell the story.

“Oh Sammy,” she whispered placing her hand comfortingly on his face. “I’m so sorry.” She felt so bad for the poor boy. First his mother died and now his girlfriend. She looked back at Dean and decided to change the subject. “So how’s my car,” she asked. Dean just glared at her. She smiled innocently.

“Get in,” Dean said reluctantly. She flashed him a huge smile.

“What about your car?” Sam asked.

“Not mine,” she said honestly. Dean’s eyes widened in surprise. “It’s not stolen either Dean,” she snapped. “Someone in the last town was going to have it towed so I said I’d fix it up, you know how handy I am. Well, there’s really nothing you can do for a car that old and that crappy,” she said simply. Let me get my stuff. She ran back to the sorry excuse for a car and grabbed a bag from it. Then she ran back to Dean’s car. She walked around and got in the car, sitting behind Sam as the brother also got in the car.

“Where were you headed,” Sam asked.

“No where in particular. I tend to roam. I’m restless, I don’t like to stay in one spot too long, right Dean,” she said with a smile. Dean remained quiet. Both Abbi and Sam noticed. “Dean what’s wrong,” she asked leaning against the back of Sam’s seat.

“Nothing,” he said distantly. Sam and Abbi knew better though and they continued to glare at him. “Its nothing all right,” he snapped.

Abbi was surprised, she had rarely seen Dean snap. “Stop the car,” she said quickly.

“What,” Dean said turning to her.

“NOW DEAN WINCHESTER,” She yelled. Dean hated when she yelled at him. He slammed on the breaks, sending her forward a bit and hitting her head against Sam’s. “Sorry,” she said to Sam as she got out of the car. “Get out,” she said to Dean. “NOW.”

Dean stayed put. “No,” he said simply. “What the hell is wrong with you Abbi.” After hearing that Sam’s head was spinning with ideas. The Abbi Murphy he remembered as a child was terribly shy and hardly ever spoke.

“Dean Winchester you get out of that damn car right now,” she snapped.

Dean reluctantly got out of the car and follow Abbi to the side of the road. “What,” he snapped. He didn’t usually yell at her but his past was his past and she didn’t need to know any of it. What happened between him and Sam stayed that way. Secrets he kept from his brother would be kept from her as well.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” she asked. “What’s been going on? You’re distant. I know you better than that Dean Winchester.”

“Nothing’s wrong Abbi Murphy. I’m agreeing to take you with us because you’re probably a better hunter than Sam and you’ve been my best friend since I was two,” he hissed at her leaning forward in a threatening manor. “But if you keep pressing this I’ll leave you to walk.”

Sam watched from the car wondering what was going on. It was then he realized he had missed a lot when he went to college. He remembered the look on Dean’s face when Abbi was taken away, the tears in his brother’s eyes. What could possibly be so bad that he’d be yelling at her?

“Then I’ll walk,” she said coldly. She stormed back to the car and grabbed her bag. Then she slammed the door shut and began to walk down the road. Sam watched confused.

“Dean what are you doing,” Sam asked when Dean got back to the car. “What’s going on?”

“Stupid whore wants to walk let her,” he said coldly through gritted teeth.

“Dean,” Sam yelled. He knew his brother would never call her that. “What the hell is going on,” he yelled. He looked out the car as they passed her. He kept a watch on her through his rearview mirror as they drove away. The sun had set by then and it was dark. Sam didn’t feel right just leaving her on the side of the road like that. Hunter or not she could get hurt. “Dean you can’t just leave her there,” he said quickly.

“Watch me,” Dean muttered.

“Damn it Dean tell me what’s going on. What happened?”

“Nothing happened Sam,” he snapped.

Sam sighed and looked back into the mirror. He sat up straight worry and fear in his eyes. “Dean,” he said quickly. “Dean she’s gone.”