I own nothing of Supernatural.
Face Your Demons
She covertly slid her phone from her pocket to check the time, her professor was off on some rabbit trail about the sexual orientation of our past U.S. presidents and she was starving. 12:13, just about fifteen more minutes and she was out the door and on her way to the food court for a much awaited lunch. Her covert operation was blown however, when her phone started buzzing in her hand and Renegade blared through the small speaker causing every head to turn in her direction. Of all the classes for her phone to go off in, why did it have to be this one?
"Well miss, you know my policy. Hand it over." Her professor held out his hand expectantly as she passed her phone over to him. She cringed as he pushed the send button and put the phone to his ear. "Hello." He began "No, she is unavailable at the moment, can I take a message?" There was a short pause. "I can assure you sir that that is physically impossible." He moved the phone away from his ear and gave it back to the now blushing girl sitting just a few feet away.
"Dean," she said softly "I'm going to have to call you back." She hung up the phone and shoved it back into her pocket, only after turning it on silent. "Sorry sir, it won't happen again." She could feel the stinging of her classmate's eyes on her.
"I'm sure it won't," he answered back "and maybe you should associate with people who have a less colorful vocabulary."
When class was finally over she rushed out of the building, cheeks still burning with embarrassment. The sun was bright causing her to squint her dark chocolate eyes. Her auburn hair looked red in the beams of light but when she ducked into the shade of a nearby tree it darkened considerably. The temperature difference made her shiver and goose bumps crawled up her slender legs and continued on up the rest of her body. The lecture hall had been like a sauna, which, combined with the heat of her own embarrassment caused her shirt to cling to her back and mid-section. She had spent the summer taking self-defense classes trying to make sure she could take care of herself and the results had been great for her body image. She became mildly obsessed with her classes actually and had started giving a few at the campus Rec. Center. Aaron the "towel boy" made the comment just last week that she was like the love child of Jet Li and Pollyanna. She considered that a complement.
When she finally adjusted to the cool air around her, she refocused on her intended task. She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, trying to squelch the anger churning in her gut. Why did he have to be so belligerent? She took out her phone and dialed the all too familiar yet unused number he had given her seven and a half months ago.
"Yeah?" she jumped at the gruffness in his tone and wondered if it was because of her.
"Hey," she hesitated "just returning your call, what's up?
"Oh, hey Courtney," his voice lightened a bit "we were passing through the area and wanted to stop by. You busy?" she felt herself tense at the question. She had been crushing on Dean since she had first met him. He wasn't at all her type, she was usually into the quirky, quiet types; you know, nerds. Dean was very much not a nerd, he was strong, extroverted and downright sexy. She thought at first that it was some sort of hero worship, like falling in love with Superman after he saves your life, but it felt different now. It had been almost eight months since she had first laid eyes on Dean and Sam Winchester and that was a day she would never forget.
It was just after two on a Saturday morning in January and her friends had abandoned her at a party she didn't want to go to in the first place. She was really just there to make sure her friends didn't do something stupid that they would later regret. Too late. They had both gone off with some guys to "get more beer" and had been gone for over an hour. The music was loud and the bass was so high that the lyrics were practically non-existent; all around her were drunken students and empty red plastic cups. She made up her mind to get out of there but the only hitch was that she would have to walk back to her dorm alone. The party was only a few blocks from campus so it shouldn't be too bad, as long as she kept one hand on her pepper spray. She made sure she stayed under the streetlights and walked as quickly as she could without raising suspicion. She was almost to her dorm when someone blew past her so fast that she stumbled back and fell into a stone wall. When she had composed herself she stood up, "Jerk!" she called out in the direction of the inconsiderate runner. She was looking down at her clothes checking for any rips or dirt when someone grabbed her. She tried to scream but a hand was covering her mouth and she was overwhelmed with the smell of rotten eggs.
"You'll do." The mysterious attacker whispered in her ear. She struggled against him and tried to run but he just gripped her tighter, so tight that she felt one of her ribs crack. She screamed through his fingers as tears began streaming down her face. "Just wait sweetheart, it will all be over soon." He brushed her hair back away from her face and planted a kiss on the top of her head, she flinched and he laughed. He was still stroking her hair when she noticed movement at the other end of the block. She tried to scream again, only to be squeezed by her captor, causing pain to radiate through her body; she went limp for a second before standing upright again.
"Hey, dick, we've been looking for you." The voice was harsh and powerful, and at that point, the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. As the source of the voice got closer, she saw that there were two men, one was extremely tall with shaggy brown hair, he was holding a sawed off shotgun and pointing it at the man behind her. The other was of average height and he had short spiked hair just a few shades lighter than the first man's. She could tell by looking at him that he was the one who had spoken earlier. When the two were about ten feet away they stopped and the one lowered his weapon slightly and looked at her, then at the man, then at his friend and finally back at her. His eyes had this look that spoke louder than anything she had ever heard. The other man never took his eyes off of the man who restrained her.
"Let her go." His voice was just as strong as before.
"Now why would I want to do that? She's kinda cute." She could feel the awful man's words vibrating in his chest and he continued to stroke her hair.
"She's a bit out of your league, don't you think?" he had a smirk on his face when he said it but the power in his eyes remained.
"Oh no," he said as he swept her hair to the side. "I think she is just perfect for me." He leaned down and kissed her neck making her cringe, he loosened his grip on her mouth and she bit down hard on his first three fingers. He grunted in pain and pushed her forward onto the ground, she heard another crack and her chest exploded in flames. "Another rib." She thought. The man with the gun took advantage of the distraction and shot her attacker. She felt a sense of satisfaction when he hit the ground that quickly turned to fear when he got back up. The man lunged toward the shooter only to fall flat on his face when her other savior put a bullet through the side of his head. At that moment, black smoke came billowing out of the dead man and disappeared into the ever lightening sky.
"Great Dean, just great, now we've lost him." It was the first time she had heard the taller one speak. He had a similar harshness but it was less intense.
"What did you want me to do Sam, let him kill you?" he sounded angry but at the same time, concerned. Now she knew their names. The man with the voice was Dean and the man with the eyes was Sam. Their names seemed fitting and right.
All of the commotion from the kiss to the smoke had taken about a minute or two and she was starting to realize that it was getting harder to breath. Sam and Dean went to her and helped her up; she was holding her midsection and wheezing.
"You okay?" Dean pulled her closer to himself and lifted her face to his. She looked into his eyes and worry had replaced power.
"I think he broke a couple of my ribs. I can't really breathe. I…I…can't…" she went limp and fell into Dean; he picked her up and took her down the block to his car.
"I think I saw a hospital on the other side of campus." She could hear Sam's voice as they put her in the back seat.
"Yeah, let's go." Dean sounded surprisingly calm. By the time they got to the hospital she was coughing and sputtering. Dean took her from the back seat and held her to his chest as they ran into the ER. The two handed her over to a doctor and took a seat in the waiting room. It was almost three hours before the doctor returned.
"She is out of surgery and doing well. She had a broken rib that punctured her left lung. You boys got her here in the nick of time. Another five minutes and there would have been nothing we could have done. You two are heroes."
"Ground control to Major Tom. You still there space cadet?" Dean's voice broke through the vale of her memory and pulled her back to the present.
"Yeah sorry, it's been a long morning, but I'm done for the day. I was actually on my way to get some lunch, wanna join? She hoped that she didn't sound too eager.
"Yeah that sounds great, we can pick you up and get some real food, not that crap they sell in the food courts. We passed a diner on the way to campus. What do ya say? Sam's treat." She could almost hear the dirty look Sam gave his brother.
"That works for me. I'm by Jordan Hall; meet you at the bus stop in a few." She hung up and walked toward the stop to wait for them. She only waited a couple of minutes before she heard the growl of the 1967 Chevy Impala's engine. She loved that car, she had never been much of a car girl but something about the Impala made her heart pound. When the boys pulled up to the curb she hopped in the back and watched as the kids left at the stop all stared in awe, the dudes were checking out the car and the girls were checking out the driver and shotgun. It made her laugh which made them laugh and soon they were zooming down the road laughing and jamming to Hells Bells on their way to the diner.
The diner was relatively empty for it being lunch time but the three welcomed that fact and set their sights on a booth. Courtney slid into the seat as the brothers followed. Dean pushed her farther into the booth and sat next to her while Sam took the seat across from them and smiled.
"What's so funny?" Courtney was smiling at this point too but wasn't sure why Sam was.
"It's just not often that we eat with anyone but each other." He thought he covered his lie well; the real reason for his smile was her smile. How could his brother not see the love in her eyes? Well, he always had been pretty oblivious to matters other than hunting and sex. Sam hoped that Dean's eyes would be opened soon; for her sake.
"Oh, well if you two want to be alone I can leave. I wouldn't want to get in the way of any bromance." She laughed at her own joke as Dean gently pushed her shoulder and Sam kicked her foot lightly under the table. The waitress brought them their menus, took their orders and left them alone. It didn't take long for the food to arrive, I mean two orders of burgers with fries and one grilled chicken sandwich with a side salad takes maybe five minutes to make. The waitress set the burgers in front of the brothers and the chicken and salad in front of Courtney and walked away. Dean laughed as Sam and Courtney switched dishes.
"Wow Sammy, even the waitress thinks you eat like a chick." Dean could hardly restrain himself.
"Funny Dean, but will you be laughing when your heart gives out and I have to carry your butt to the hospital? Probably not."
The three of them ate and talked and left a hefty tip before climbing into the Impala and heading back to the dorms.
"So are you two working a case?" the question had been on her mind since Dean's first call during class. She was one of the few people who knew what the Winchesters really did for a living and she considered that a sort of honor as well as a curse.
"You guys saved my life. I don't even know what to say except thank you." Her voice was just above a whisper and her breathing was labored. Sam stepped closer to the bed and took her hand.
"No need to thank us, we were happy to help." Sam's eyes were shining and she could swear they were telling her a story. As he stepped back she looked over at Dean who seemed to be uncomfortable with the situation. She caught his eye and he looked away quickly. That hurt more than the punctured lung.
"C'mon Sammy, we should let her rest." Dean started walking towards the door of the room and stopped with his hand on the knob, he turned and shared a look with Sam and then left.
"He's right. You do need to rest, we'll come back later." She saw the frustration in his eyes and knew that they wouldn't be back.
She woke up five hours later and saw that it was starting to get dark, but that didn't startle her as much as the sight of Dean sitting in the chair next to the window. Her breath caught in her throat and she gasped. Dean turned his head and saw that she was now awake.
"Hey, kiddo. How you feelin'?" there was that voice again, that voice that made her wish he would never stop speaking. He noticed the smile on her face and matched it.
"I guess that means you're feelin' better?" his smile got wider and his bright green eyes seemed to dance and she felt herself melt.
"Yeah, I feel great, considering. So, I wanted to ask, what happened out there? Did you know that guy?" he dropped his face at her questions.
"You could say that. Now this is going to sound crazy but it wasn't actually a guy that grabbed you, it was…a demon. He was possessing the guy. The smoke you saw, that was the demon. Sam and I, we hunt them." He stood there tensed almost waiting for the barrage of insults that was sure to come, but when he didn't hear anything he relaxed and looked her in the eye, she looked calm.
"A demon…well that would explain the sulfur smell." Dean's eyes got wide at her statement.
"How did you know about the sulfur?"
"Well Hellfire and Brimstone probably wouldn't smell like roses and sugar cookies." She chuckled which caused a tiny twinge of dull pain in her chest.
"You're right, but you seem to be taking this pretty well. You don't want to call me crazy or say that me and my brother are psychopaths or call security or anything?"
"Why would I call you crazy? I saw exactly what you said I saw, so if you're crazy, I'm crazy. Wait did you say brother? You and Sam are brothers?"
"Yeah, what did you think we were? Please don't tell me you thought we were gay, 'cause I really get sick of that."
"No, I just didn't know you were brothers."
"Oh well… we are."
"Yeah and it's not always so glamorous." Sam said as he came into the room.
"Ha. Well I guess it's my turn to introduce myself. I'm Courtney, Courtney Cartwright."
"Nice to meet you Courtney Cartwright." Sam smiled and shook her hand.
"So, you're Sam and you're Dean; what's your last name?
"Winchester." The two said in unison.
"Cool."
She snapped back to reality when the engine stopped and she saw that they were outside of her dorm building. The place was falling apart and had no central air which was made evident by the box fans in every window.
"Ah, home sweet craphole." Dean smirked.
"Hey it's better than living in a box. At least, that's what I keep telling myself." She shook her head and jogged up the steps to the main door. She turned to the guys before heading in; they were getting into the Impala.
"Wow I feel like one of you should be telling me that the money is on the night stand and that you'll see me next week when your wife leaves for her bridge game. " There was sarcasm in her voice but there was real hurt there too.
"Oh c'mon sugar I thought we weren't going to get attached." The cheeky comment came from Sam, which surprised her somewhat but also lifted the tension. She laughed and walked back down the steps towards the waiting brothers.
"Seriously, are you guys just gonna leave. I was hoping we could hang out for a while. I haven't seen you in forever." She tugged on Sam's shirt as she pleaded. Dean moved to the other side of the car where his brother and Courtney were standing, he gripped her shoulder and spun her around to face him; he had to reach out and stop her from pulling a complete 180. He always forgot he was dealing with someone half his size.
"We'd love to stay kiddo, but like I said, we're just passing through." He could see the disappointment in her eyes and wished he could stay. He knew that this job left little time for friends, or any kind of relationships for that matter, but he always wanted to stay a little while longer.
"Well then, I am going to need hugs from both of you and assurance that you won't wait another eight months to call." She opened her arms and stepped closer to Dean. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, not noticing the fact that she was reluctant to let go. When they parted she turned to Sam and assumed the hug position. Sam was a whole one foot four inches taller than she was, so hugging him was always a challenge and he used that to tease her, but today he leaned down to meet her as she stood herself up on her tip-toes. He pulled her up towards him lifting her a few inches off the ground and then set her down gently. She usually hated being picked up, but not when Sam did it. She watched as the pair drove out of sight and went up to her room to start on her homework, as if she would be able to concentrate.
She looked at the clock with sleep blurred eyes and reached for her phone, it was 2:18. She recognized the ringtone as her friend Zak's. She had picked Barbie Girl for him because of his almost bizarre resemblance to the original Ken doll. She answered his call with a curt "Yeah?" before sitting straight up in her bed, eyes wide and fearful. His voice scared her. Most of what he said was incoherent but she was able to make out the words Tracy, kidnapped, and hospital. She listened to him give what details he could and headed off to meet him. When she pulled into the lot she thought back to that night and shivered. She hadn't even driven past the hospital until now much less set foot in it, but it was for Zak. His voice had sounded so strange on the phone, almost alien. She walked into the main lobby and asked the woman behind the counter about Zak and she told her he was on the fifth floor and that he had said she would be coming. Courtney got off the elevator and looked around for her friend and found him sitting on a bench outside of an office belonging to a Doctor Emmett Stafford.
"Hey Zak, hon, are you okay? You were pretty vague on the phone. What's happening?" she kept her voice calm but the look on his face made her heart pound with panic.
"Nobody believes me…the doctor doesn't believe me…the police don't believe me…you, you won't believe me." He sounded like he was ten years old and had just broken his neighbor's window.
"Of course I'll believe you Zak; you have never lied to me before. Please, tell me what happened." They both jumped when they heard a voice next to them.
"Are you Miss Cartwright? I've been expecting you. Zak, why don't you join us in my office?" the doctor had come out of his office when he heard the two talking. He was older, maybe fifty five or fifty six, with a skinny mustache and a pot belly. They all took a seat in Dr. Stafford's office and began discussing the situation before them.
"Zak, would you like to tell Miss Cartwright what you told me?" Courtney was growing irritated with the good doctor's condescending tone, but ignored it and turned to Zak giving him her undivided attention.
"We were walking down on the south side of campus when it happened. I was making some stupid joke about my Psych professor when I noticed that my shoe was untied, I kneeled down to tie it and Tracy started nagging me to hurry up so, naturally, I took my time." He began to rock back and forth nervously. "She had started in with that cute little whine of hers when she just stopped short. I looked up to see what had caused her to cut off like that and I saw this black smoke, it was so thick that I couldn't even see Tracy anymore. I called for her but the smoke just swirled around and flew off." He was talking too fast and the pitch of his voice was getting higher and higher. "Tracy was gone and I smelled this, this disgusting smell. Like a week old omelet. I know that the smoke took Tracy, I know it did, but no one believes me." Zak was in tears when he finished; Tracy and Zak had been together since they were freshmen in high school, he had even talked about proposing on their anniversary this year.
"Zak, I'm so sorry." Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes as she pulled Zak into a hug.
"I am recommending that we keep him for a few days, to monitor him. I'm afraid these delusions stem from something much more complicated." The doctor's face was emotionless.
"Yes, of course doctor." Man she really wanted to hit this guy. She leaned into Zak for another hug and whispered in his ear. "I believe you Zak. I know what to do but I need you stay here where you can be safe. Can you do that for me?"
"I don't want to, they don't believe me, and I have to find Tracy." Zak was shaking in her arms.
"They don't have to, all that matters is that I do, and that I know some people who can help."
"If you say so, but please, bring her back to me."
"I will Zak, I will."
They said their goodbyes and Courtney headed for her car. When she was safely behind the wheel, she took out her phone and hit redial, after four and a half rings she heard a raspy "hello?" on the other end of the line.
"Dean," she paused to collect herself, she hated having to come to him like this. She felt weak. "I need your help." Her voice was quiet and trembling and she knew that she sounded desperate. She waited in silence for a reply.
"Be there in an hour." That was all he said before she heard the faint click as the line disconnected. She put her phone back in her pocket and wept, it was happening again, but this time, she had to watch.
Dean had kept his promise and arrived at her dorm fifty eight minutes from the time she had called him. She was sitting outside when the Impala rumbled up. She was suddenly embarrassed by the way she was dressed. She hadn't thought twice about just throwing on her Styx t-shirt with a pair of black nylon shorts she usually wore to work out in. For September it had been pretty hot and she had made it a habit of sleeping in her underwear so when Zak had called she just grabbed something and put it on. She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest when the two got out of their car. Dean looked up at her on the steps and quietly admired her taste in concert tees.
"What's up?" Dean practically bounded up the steps passing his younger brother on the way. Sam shook his head, he knew his brother was loyal but he hadn't even bothered to find out what the situation was before telling Sam to "pack his crap" because Courtney needed their help. He instantly felt guilty for doubting Courtney; he knew she wouldn't have called if it hadn't been important.
"I think that maybe," she was struggling to get her words out. "I think that my friend's girlfriend…I think she was kidnapped…by a demon." Her knees were quaking beneath her and it felt like she was trying to swallow a hot brick. The look that the brothers exchanged was something she had heard referred to as the "oh shit" look.
"What do you mean? Why would you think that?" Sam had pushed in closer at this point and taken her hand. She rushed through her recap of Zak's story just so she could get the words out of her head. When she was finished she added,
"It sounded a lot like what happened back in January so I called you. Please, please say that you'll help." She was feeling extremely vulnerable now and wished that one of them, and she knew exactly which one she wanted that to be, would just scoop her up and hold her. Before she could finish her thought the boys were back at the Impala and Sam was holding open the back passenger side door.
"C'mon, we've got work to do." Courtney made her way down the stairs and into the car. Though it wasn't quite as good as human contact, being in the Impala felt like being held, like being home in a way and Courtney felt a bit better.
They spent the rest of that night with Zak getting his story and most of the next day checking for other signs around campus. Courtney sent out a mass email to all of her professors saying that she had been called for jury duty and wouldn't be in class until further notice. She wasn't too worried about the proof part; Sam and Dean were great with fake documents. She almost felt bad for lying to her English Lit. Professor though, they had established a sort of friendship since the start of the semester and lying was defiantly not okay to do in a friendship. Whatever, she had to do what she had to do as lame and clichéd as it sounded. She met up with the guys at the center desk of her building and they set out again to look for something, anything that could give them a clue as to what happened to Tracy. Around one thirty that next morning the three thought they had hit a brick wall in their investigation when Courtney's phone alerted her that she had a new text message. Very annoyed and very tired, the last thing she wanted to do was have a text conversation with one of her friends about how she had dropped off the face of the earth but she checked it anyway. It was just Facebook mobile telling her that someone had written on her Wall. "Hey sweetie, sorry to her about Prof. Riley. If you need to talk, I'm here for ya girly." Professor Riley? What happened to Professor Riley?
"Anything important?" Dean saw the confused look on her face and tried to snap her out of it.
"Something happened to Professor Riley, I have her twice a week for English Lit. I gotta check it out." She opened her laptop to look on the school paper's website and there it was; front page headline; "University Professor Missing: Local Police Stumped." She went on to read the article and found a statement by a witness who was quoted in saying that they had heard a woman scream and then noticed some black smoke above the faculty lot. She closed her computer, pulled her knees toward her chin and buried her face in her hands. This couldn't be happening. Not again. Why? She wanted to scream but knew that would get her nothing but a sore throat and a headache. Sam and Dean just watched her, concern growing in both of them. Sam slid her computer towards him and opened it. He read the article and then showed it to Dean; he was the one to break the silence.
"It looks like we have another disappearance to look into." He said with caution, unsure of the reaction it would cause.
"Yeah, looks like." Courtney's voice was barely above a whisper when she peeked over the tops of her knees.
"Ok then." Sam agreed.
"Well at least we have one new lead." Both brothers looked at her knowing what she was thinking and knowing that this wasn't going to be easy on her. "Me." Sam put a hand on her shoulder and she let a single tear roll down her cheek. This was just getting started.
Two more days passed and still they found nothing. Not a single piece of information that told them where the missing women were, nothing to say if they were even still alive and the brothers could tell that it was taking its toll on Courtney. They needed to find something fast or she was going to collapse. She hadn't eaten or slept since she found out about her professor. She was going to make herself sick. They argued about talking to her about it or not, Sam being for the idea, and Dean being against it. She reminded him a lot of himself. This made him both proud and a bit worried, after all, he was pretty messed up at times.
"Yo, you're phone went off. You doin' okay?" She jumped when she heard Dean's voice.
"Yeah I'm fan-freaking-tastic. I feel like dancin'." She hadn't intended on sounding that crabby but she was exhausted and not feeling well. "Sorry Dean, that was uncalled for. Thanks for telling me." She took her phone from him and checked the screen; it was a missed call from her friend Elaine. She decided to call her back and make up some excuse to get her to stop calling for a while. She had first met Elaine a week or two after she met the Winchester's, she had gone to the campus hospital's clinic to have her checkup and Elaine was working as a receptionist there. The two were fast friends and got together at least twice a week.
"Hey girly! How ya been? I haven't heard from you in forever!" Elaine was always so peppy. Normally it was a trait Courtney found endearing but today she wanted to jump through the phone and smack her.
"I've been better El. Is it ok if I call you back later?" she hoped that it would be.
"Well considering I am walking up to your door now that might be kinda unnecessary." Courtney's heart dropped. This could not be happening. She heard a knock at the door and all three heads turned towards the sound.
"Crap." Courtney whispered as she went to let her friend in. Elaine was beautiful. She stood a full five feet eight inches and had a body that could make most super models jealous. Her eyes were an icy blue that could render any man senseless and her strawberry blonde hair flowed down to her shoulders. Her legs went on for days and she was most definitely stacked. She walked like she lived on a cloud and the two would always joke about how her butt was the closest she would ever come to being J-Lo. Courtney had always been a bit envious of her. She stood at a mere five feet no inches and had wild curls that hit her just below the chin. Even though she was fit, she was petite so she would never be considered "hot". Courtney stepped back to let Elaine in and both Winchester's eye were glued to her. Elaine's line of sight locked on Dean and his eyes seemed to glow. Courtney felt as if her heart would stop, she had been waiting eight months for that look to cross Dean's face and now that it had, it wasn't for her. She swallowed the ever growing lump in her throat and turned to Elaine.
"El, this is a really bad time." She was still choking back her tears. "I'm kind of in the middle of something." Courtney saw from the corner of her eye that Dean's expression had changed to one resembling that of a sixteen year old boy with a copy of Penthouse Forum in his hands. She sighed silently and focused back on Elaine.
"I can see that." Elaine gave her the old wink, wink, nudge, nudge and smiled. "So who are your friends?" she walked over to the brothers and extended her hand towards Dean. "Hey I'm Elaine," she gave him those famous elevator eyes. "But you can call me El." She was using her sexy voice and Courtney couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"El this is Dean and his brother Sam. Guys, this is Elaine Bishop, she's a friend of mine."
"It's nice to meet you." Sam's voice was almost shy sounding.
"Yeah, any friend of Courtney's is a friend of mine." Dean sounded like the Big Bad Wolf only hornier.
"Yeah, well, El I hate to be rude but this really is an extremely bad time and you should probably go." Courtney was practically dragging her across the room at this point. She needed El to go for two reasons; one, she needed the Winchesters with their eyes on the prize, not Elaine's chest and two, she couldn't risk losing her, she had lost too much already.
"Oh okay then," she said, reluctant to take her eyes off of Dean. "Are you doing okay? I mean, I haven't heard from you in like, four days and now you are starting to scare me a little." she pulled away and rubbed her now sore wrist. Elaine was staring at her waiting for a response. Courtney took a deep breath before answering her.
"Elaine, I'm fine, I promise. I will call you tomorrow and we can talk then. Now is just not the best time. We'll walk you out." She shot a look at the brothers and the four of them walked down the hall and out the main door. It was starting to get dark and Elaine's car was at the opposite end of the lot. Sam beat Dean to the punch and offered to walk her rest of the way. Courtney had turned and was standing directly in front of Dean looking up at him, watching him ogle her friend. He looked down at her and shrugged.
"What?" that was all she heard before the scream. She spun around so quickly that she almost fell over. Dean's head popped up and they both saw the thick black smoke in the place where Sam and Elaine had just been. They ran fast towards the smoke but by the time they got there it was gone, and so was Sam.
Everything had happened so fast, none of them knew what to think. Elaine was in tears on the curb and Dean was looking everywhere in a fifty foot radius yelling for Sam every ten seconds or so. Courtney's head was spinning and it was all she could do to keep from screaming; first Tracy, then Professor Riley, and now Sam. What did this demon want and why did it want it from her?
"Courtney, what is happening here?" Elaine was choking on her words and her chest was heaving but Courtney didn't want to answer El's question, she wanted somebody to answer hers. Her responsible side took over and she took a seat next to her sobbing friend and wrapped one arm around her shoulder.
"What you saw, that smoke, it was…" Courtney choked on her next words. "A demon." Elaine looked up at her with a mix of confusion and fear. "I know…crazy right? Well it's true." She pulled Elaine closer and let her try to process what she had just said. When she felt her friend's muscles relax she went on. "I was attacked by one back in January and now more have been coming after people I know, people I care about." Elaine squeezed even closer to Courtney and continued sobbing softly. Courtney sighed and rubbed El's back to comfort her. "I wanted to keep anyone else from getting hurt, that's why I didn't call you and that's also why I didn't want you to stay. I'm sorry El, I wish I could tell you that everything is going to be alright and hug this whole mess away." She stopped to catch her breath and Elaine pulled her into a hug and cried into her shoulder.
"We gotta get her safe." Dean had come up behind the girls and waited for them to finish before he spoke. Elaine looked up from Courtney's shoulder with a puzzled look.
"He's right." Courtney stood up and helped El to her feet. "Where should we go?"
"There is a motel outside of town, it's where Sammy and I stayed last time we were here. We can hold up there. You gonna be okay?" his question was directed at Elaine. She let go of Courtney's hand and clung to Dean like an infant to its mother. Courtney knew her friend was scared but she couldn't help but scowl. "I'll take that as a maybe." Even though he was going out of his mind with worry about Sam, he was definitely enjoying being this close to Elaine.
The three headed for the Impala and Courtney opened the back door to let Elaine in but she refused to let go of Dean. The two climbed into the front seat with barely an inch between them while Courtney fought off a migraine alone in the back. When they got to the motel, Courtney went to the front desk and rented a room with two double beds for two nights with the possibility of a third and met Dean and her still trembling friend at the car. She handed one key to Dean and told him it was room 14A. While Dean took Elaine to settle in Courtney set off to get some food. Elaine had stopped shaking by the time they entered the room and was starting to loosen her grip on Dean's arm.
"You feeling better?" he asked as he led her to one of the beds.
"Yeah, I think so." She let her hand brush across his chest. "Thanks for being so patient with me." She let herself sink into the mattress.
"No problem, it's my duty to protect and serve." He chuckled.
"You're a cop?
"No, not exactly."
"Oh, well, whoever you are, I'm glad you were there…and I'm sorry about your brother."
"Yeah, uh, thanks." Dean wanted to yell at her and tell her that Sam was coming back, that he would be fine, but he knew she had been through enough for now. He felt a sudden twinge of guilt, Courtney had been through so much in the last few days and he hadn't even bothered to ask if she was alright. He even sent her off on her own to get something to eat. He turned around to grab his phone off the bedside table where he had left it so he could call her and Elaine was suddenly pressed against him, her lips on his. Every thought left his brain as he wrapped his arms around her, they fell back onto the bed and when they finally separated for air they noticed that Courtney was standing in the door with three Styrofoam food containers and a very surprised look on her face.
"Uh, hey kiddo. I was just about to call you." Dean tried to hide his embarrassment but it wasn't really working.
"Yeah, okay." She rolled her eyes "Well, its food." She set the containers down on the table, grabbed the one off the top and sat on the opposite bed. The other two took their meals and the three of them ate in silence. When they had all finished Dean got to work demon proofing the room. He made a line of salt at every window and one in front of the door.
"What is he doing?" Elaine leaned into the gap between the beds to address Courtney.
"He's keeping the demons out. They can't cross salt lines." Her tone was sad with just the slightest hint of bitterness.
"Are you sure you're okay? I didn't interfere with any plans you had with Dean did I?"
"No, not at all, it just caught me off guard. Dean and I, we're just friends." Her stomach clinched at her lie, but she didn't want El to know she was upset. After all, they did look cute together and its not like he felt anything for her anyway, she would get over it.
"Well, the salt lines are in place but I ran out of paint before I could finish the devil's trap but that will have to wait until tomorrow." Dean grabbed some things from his duffel and went into the bathroom; the girls heard the shower kick on and after ten or so minutes Dean came out followed by a wall of steam. "You ladies gonna hit the showers?" he had a devilish grin on his face at the thought of some girl on girl shower time but he was met with death glares.
"Well, Dean, we kinda don't have any clothes. This relocation was pretty sudden." Courtney said as she tried not to stare at Dean's well toned body that was now clad in just a pair of black boxers and his amulet.
"I can loan you both one of my shirts if you want." His tone had changed from frisky to sweet and both girls agreed.
"You can go ahead El; I just want to chill for a while first." Courtney said as she lay back on the bed she would be sharing with her friend and closed her eyes.
"You don't have to tell me twice." El hopped up and headed for the bathroom taking the shirt from Dean on the way. He had to give her one of Sam's because she was so tall; one of his t-shirts wouldn't have covered much. When he heard the water turn on he sat on the edge of Courtney's bed. She felt her body move slightly as the corner of the mattress dipped under his weight. She knew it was him but she resisted the urge to open her eyes and make any sort of contact. She could feel him start to shift from side to side and the urge to say something grew stronger, but what she had seen earlier was still burned into her brain and talking to him now would be too hard. After a minute or two she felt the mattress bounce back as he got up from the bed, she peeked to see what he was up to and saw he had gone to his duffel and was checking his gun. She closed her eyes again sighed quietly. Dean's head snapped up and his eyes went to Courtney, this wasn't going to be easy. He walked back over to the bed but this time sat on the edge closer to her. Courtney realized that this whole time they had been sitting in silence, but not just any silence, it was awkward silence; this made her smile. She opened her eyes and rolled on her side to reach for the TV remote and hit the power button. She flipped through the channels until finally settling on a rerun of Dawson's Creek. Both watched in continued silence and they were twenty minutes into the sappy teenage soap opera when Dean spoke.
"So," he began "about earlier, I'm sorry about the whole…" he was cut off.
"It's cool Dean. I figured you two would hit it off, just, try not to be so open about the physical stuff okay?" She was shocked at how well she hid her true feelings from him. It was getting harder to do so as he got up from his current perch and moved to sit right next to her. He was close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body. She sat up and leaned back against the headboard.
"That's not all I wanted to apologize for. I'm not usually the sensitive one, but in this case I was the insensitive one." His eyes were shining and she was getting lost in his words.
"What are you talking about, you've been great. I mean, the way you are with Elaine, especially with Sam…" she cut herself off this time. Sam and Dean were close and now with Sam on the list of demon victims, Courtney knew Dean would be on edge about it. She saw him tense but he continued with his apology.
"That's just what I mean; I've been so worried about Sam and been so wrapped up in El that I forgot about you. You have been through hell this week and I've hardly paid attention. Sammy wanted to talk to you about this but I told him to leave it. I'm sorry." He put a hand on hers and her heart began pounding in her ears. She tightened her grip on his hand and leaned forward so that she could finally kiss the man of her dreams but just then the bathroom door opened and Elaine walked out wearing a navy blue shirt with the print of a Greyhound up near the chest and her hair wrapped up in a towel.
"What is it about a shower that can take a crappy day and make it…slightly less crappy?" she was almost back to her usual peppy self. It was actually kind of reassuring to Courtney, like it meant things could be normal again."
"I don't know, but I'm about to find out." Courtney dropped Dean's hand and slid off the bed. "You got a shirt for me?" she smiled at Dean and he went to grab a shirt. "Thanks." She said and headed for the shower.
She wasn't in the shower for very long but when she got out Dean was dozing on his bed, which was between the girls and the door for protection, and El was reading a brochure for some tourist trap down the road. Elaine looked up and smiled at her. Courtney was swallowed up in Dean's flannel shirt, but she took some satisfaction in the fact that it was Dean's and not Sam's. She shook that thought from her mind and crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep. It was the first time she had done so it almost a week.
She woke up early, the wall clock said it was almost five fifteen, she got out of bed as gently as she could, being careful not to wake Elaine. Dean was fast asleep snoring softly in the next bed; she laughed quietly to herself and made her way to the bathroom. She only had the clothes she had worn yesterday so she pulled on her jeans and traded Dean's shirt for her own. She put on her socks and shoes and headed for the door. She could see the frost on the window and shivered out of reflex. She had noticed that it had been getting colder in the past few days but something about this drop in temperature made her uneasy. She went back and grabbed Dean's flannel and threw it on. The black and blue plaid was a nice complement to her black polo with the exception that it was about three sizes too big. She headed for the door again and left hoping that the diner she had gone to last night would be open this early.
Dean had watched her put on his shirt and had to keep himself from laughing at how big it was on her. She looked kinda cute in it and he expected her to "girl it up" by tying the ends at her waist but she didn't, she just threw it on and left the room. He debated on whether he should follow her or not but decided he should just call her instead. He rolled over to reach for his phone and made eye contact with Elaine, she was staring at him with sleep in her eyes and he was taken in by her. He climbed out of bed and made his way to her. She propped herself up on her elbow and let him pull her into a kiss. She kissed him back and whispered something in his ear. He pulled her deeper into the kiss and before he knew it she was trying to take off her shirt. He thought of Courtney and pulled away.
"What is it? Did I do something wrong?" she was nearly pleading.
"No, it's just; I think we should cool it. Courtney will be back any minute."
"It's ok; she said you two were just friends, that there is nothing between you." Dean felt a pinch inside when she said that, but he wasn't sure why.
"Yeah we are just friends but I just wanna avoid an awkward situation." When he finished Elaine pulled Dean back into a kiss with one hand and used the other scratch lightly down his back knowing that it would drive him wild. He wanted to stop but Elaine knew all the right moves. He felt himself pressing harder against her as his hands slid down her waist to remove her shirt. Just as things were getting really heated Dean heard Courtney's voice in his head "Just, try not to be so open about the physical stuff okay?" He broke the kiss and practically jumped off the bed.
"Okay, what is it now?" Elaine sounded winded and frustrated.
"It's just…" he couldn't believe he was doing this but something told him that this was wrong. "I think we should cool it for now."
"Fine." She said with a huff and got out of bed and went to the bathroom to dress, Dean pulled on his jeans and then a t-shirt. He searched for his over shirt until he remembered Courtney had it. As if on cue Courtney came through the door with three more food containers and three cups.
"Hey, nice to see you up and at 'em. Sleep well?" Courtney sounded almost happy but there was something else there too, something he couldn't quite place.
"Yeah, like a baby. You?" Elaine came out of the bathroom and took one of the cups from Courtney.
"Have I told you lately that I love you?" She mused into the cup.
"Aw, I love you too El." Courtney mused back; it felt good to be joking again.
"Oh I was talking to the coffee, but you're nice too." All three of them shared a good laugh and ate their breakfasts.
"Crap." Courtney jumped up and ran to the door.
"What?" Elaine and Dean asked in unison.
"I left my card at the diner, be back in a few." She ran out the door and down the block. When she walked in the man at the register held out her card.
"I figured you'd be back." He grinned at her. He was maybe twenty five and has a great smile. He seemed to be pretty interested in her and any other time she might have enjoyed it but this had been an off week and the odds weren't good on it getting any better any time soon.
"Yeah sometimes I think I would forget my head if it weren't attached." She tried to take the card but he kept a tight grip on it.
"What'll you give me for it?" he had switched into full on flirt mode now.
"Well, I could give you a swift kick in the pants but I would rather just take it without a fight." She played it like she was flirting back but there was seriousness in her voice.
"Well, that's not really what I want. He grabbed her wrist and his eyes turned black. She pulled away but his grip got tighter. "I've been looking for you." He said through clenched teeth. She didn't scream because she knew that would only cause more problems, so she did the only thing she could think of, she took a salt shaker from the counter and shoved it in his mouth, he let go of her wrist and she ran out the door faster than she had ever run before. She busted through the door of the room and told Dean everything that had just happened.
"We gotta get out of here, now." Dean grabbed his duffel and headed for the door. Courtney took Elaine by the hand and tried to pull her but she stood firm.
"Shouldn't we stay here? I mean we are safe with all of this anti-demon stuff right?"
"No, we need to go, these sons of bitches are tricky and they like to run in packs. We are probably out numbered." Dean was at her other side now trying to make her move. Between the two of them they dragged her to the door where she stopped but they didn't.
"C'mon El, lets go." Courtney was getting frustrated with her friend's lack of cooperation; she looked back at her and noticed that she had stopped just short of the salt line, realization took hold and her eyes widened. "Dean, look." Dean followed Courtney's gaze and his eyes widened as well. He met El's eyes and whispered "Christo." El twitched and her eyes went black. She threw the others forward and went back into the room. Dean got up and chased after her, Courtney following close behind, but before they could get back through the door, they were surrounded by a thick black smoke and then nothing.
Dean woke first, he was lying flat on his back and he could feel a weight on his chest. He looked down and saw Courtney; she was breathing but not conscious. He shifted slightly, sitting himself upright while keeping Courtney close.
"Dean?" she was starting to wake up.
"Yeah I'm here, you okay?" he hugged her to him.
"I think so. Where are we?" They looked around, trying to make sense of everything. They appeared to be in a room of some kind but the walls were stone and the air was damp. There was very little light and Courtney's mind went to the Edgar Allen Poe story The Pit and the Pendulum.
"I'm not sure, wait, you here that?" the two sat silently and listened.
"Dean?" they heard Sam's voice coming from somewhere down the hallway behind them. They got up and walked slowly to where they heard his voice and found a door. Being careful not to make any noise, Dean opened the door and saw his brother sitting with two women, one around twenty and the other was maybe in her late forties. He guessed that they were Tracy and Professor Riley. His suspicions were confirmed when Courtney gasped next to him. Sam turned at the sound. "Dean! Courtney! I thought I heard you. Come untie us and get us out of here."
"Well, I can only help you with the first part; we didn't exactly come here voluntarily." Dean explained what had happened as he freed his brother and the two women. Courtney hugged each one of them and turned to Dean.
"Now what?" Dean didn't have a chance to answer; Elaine and the man from the diner walked into the room and slammed the group into the wall. They were bound there without restraints and none of them could shake free.
"Hey, hey the gang's all here." The diner guy sauntered up to Courtney, "It's been a while sweetheart." He reached out, stroked her hair out of her face and planted a light kiss on her head. She flinched and he laughed. It was January all over again and she felt her ribs cracking and saw Sam and Dean walking closer and she started to cry.
"Now, now, dry those tears girly. I'm here for you. Need a hug?" Elaine didn't even bother to stifle her laughter. She walked up to Dean and kissed him. "I am kinda sad you figured things out so quickly, you and I could have had so much fun."
"Go to hell." Dean spat.
"Been there done that sweetie." She walked back over to where her companion was now standing. "So, who's first?" she asked.
"Well it makes sense to go in order." Came the other's voice and with that statement, he walked up to Tracy and slit her throat. Courtney screamed as she watched both blood and life drain from her friend. She thought of Zak's plea and began to beg as he made his way towards professor Riley and again she screamed when the blade sliced through skin and blood poured down her neck and chest. She knew Sam was next and she couldn't bare the thought of Dean watching his brother die. The demon was inches from Sam's throat when she spoke.
"Please," her voice was shaky and weak. "Please, no more. Do to me what you want but please, leave them alone."
"Aw, isn't she cute. Come here sweetheart." He released his hold on her and she dropped to the ground, all of her strength was gone so she had no choice but to crawl to him. He pulled her up by her hair and wrapped his arms around her. Dean and Sam struggled harder against their invisible ties but nothing gave. All they could do was watch as this demon manipulated Courtney, it was killing them. "You think you can save them by sacrificing yourself; admirable, but stupid." He grabbed a handful of her hair again and pulled her into a deep kiss that made her squirm. She tried to fight back but he was too strong. The demon put all of his focus into kissing Courtney and his restraints were weakened temporarily. The brothers dropped down and ran for Elaine. Sam got to her first and tackled her. She fought back but she had been caught off guard and was easily incapacitated. The diner demon let go of Courtney and she fell back, her lips bruised and bleeding from the roughness of the kiss. Dean attacked him, throwing punches and breaking the bones of its host. The demon was past unconscious when Sam pulled Dean off of him.
Sam dragged the two bodies to a remote corner of the building while Dean went to find the Impala. It turns out that the demons had been keeping their captives in the sub-basement of the campus library; it hadn't been used in years and was chained off so it was the perfect hiding place for them. After thirty minutes Dean returned with a can of spray-paint and a small leather book. He used the paint to make a devil's trap on the floor of the room and when the demons roused Sam exercised them. Courtney had been an inactive member of all of this but she refused to leave the brothers. When the demons were back in hell where they belonged and the bodies of their hosts had been salted and burned, Dean, Sam, and Courtney headed topside.
Sam went off to make an anonymous call to the police about the bodies left in the basement. Dean looked over at the Impala; Courtney was leaning up against the hood staring at the ground. She looked so small, so fragile, like she might break if he touched her. Everything she had been through, all that she had seen. When he met her so many months ago he was impressed with how she handled everything, it was part of the reason he wanted to stay in touch with her, and now, looking at her, her body all but broken and her eyes filled with pain. He wanted to fix it, to fix her, make everything okay again. The world slowed down as he walked towards her. He moved close and stood directly in front of her. He didn't want to touch her because he really did think she might break, so he let her lead the way. She lifted her head slowly and looked into his eyes. They were normally bright green and full of life but now they were calm and dark.
"She was a demon the whole time. Elaine. She never really was Elaine, not when I knew her." Her voice cracked and trembled and his heart broke just a little more. "This whole time, nothing was real, nothing." Her voice was getting faster with every breath. "Why, why did this happen? Is anything real?" She looked deep into Dean's eyes and asked. " Are you even real?" she couldn't hold back the tears any longer, her face dropped and she let them flow; they felt cold, her whole body felt cold. Then something changed, she felt…warmth. She opened her eyes and Dean's hands were cupping her face, wiping away her tears. She reached up and held his hands, he took hers and put them on his chest, again she felt warmth and she could feel his heart beating and her heart synced with his.
"Do you feel that?" Dean began and Courtney nodded slowly, her tears ebbing. "I'm real, and I love you." He was surprised at how natural the phrase sounded, he was normally a love 'em and leave 'em kinda guy, but this was different, she was different and he was different because of her. "I have since that night back in January. I want to make you feel better, feel safe, and feel loved." Dean was slowly and gently pulling her closer until she was fully in his arms, he wanted to kiss her so badly but he thought that would make things worse, until he felt her hand on the back of his neck and she was pressing her lips to his. They felt a surge of energy shoot through them and they were connected. She didn't want to leave his arms and he seemed to feel the same way. When they finally did part, Sam was standing about six feet away trying not to stare.
"What are you looking at Sammy?" Dean was short of breath and practically laughing.
"Nothing, not a thing." Sam chuckled. He had watched the two grow closer together over the past few days and he knew from the start that Dean felt something for her. Nobody knew his brother better than he did and the first time they had met Courtney, the night they saved her life, he had seen the look on his brother's face when she literally fell into his arms. He was happy for them.
"No." Courtney's voice was steady again and she pressed her forehead to Dean's. "You're looking at something, you're looking at everything."