It had been dark when you'd been taken, dark when you woke up in an unfamiliar place, and dark when you heard the door burst open and the frantic voices of the Winchester brothers calling your name. It had been unfortunately bright for most of the rest of the time you'd been kidnapped, however, and everything seemed too vivid and too sharp and it was hard to remember anything except searing pain and the crimson of your blood splattering the floor and in your mouth. Your throat burned from the screams that had been unwillingly wrenched from your broken and exhausted frame, and you found yourself briefly wondering how it had managed to go from so bright to so dark in a matter of minutes. It had only been a couple minutes since they got here, right? That door hadn't been blown in the whole time?
This was the thought that you were caught on as your world rapidly went dim, but you managed to register the fact that the bonds holding you in place were being cut loose and that instead of being pinned to a hard metal table, you were now leaning limply against a more solid, more human form. Green eyes stared down at you, and you could hear Dean shouting even though his voice sounded like it was miles away. You smiled slightly, happy to see him, and tried to tell him that everything was fine and that he didn't need to look so worried, but your mouth wouldn't seem to move like you told it to. You'd never been this tired in your life, and despite the repeated command to 'Stay with me, [y/n]!' you could feel your eyes drifting closed. He said something to Sam, but you couldn't hear much more than an urgent murmuring sound. 'C'mon, [y/n], I just need you to stay awake. You can do that, I know you can. Just a little while longer.' Your mouth moved slightly open and closed, your jaw barely shifting, as you told him that of course you would stay awake, he just needed to stop shouting. The world just kept getting darker and darker, though, and all that would come out of your mouth was a strained, almost inaudible moan.
The next thing you remembered was waking up in the Impala to Cas's blue, blue eyes. He was staring right at you, seeming rather concerned. But then, he usually had a bit of a puzzled expression on so maybe that was just his face. "Hey, Cas." You said groggily, the words feeling like broken glass coming out of your throat. You paused then, taking inventory of your body parts. Everything seemed there, nothing seemed broken, but you felt like you'd been hit by a truck. Your attention shifted briefly to the front seat, where Sam was watching you carefully over his shoulder and Dean was checking on you in the rear view mirror as often as he dared. "Why's everything hurt? I get in a fight?"
Sam didn't smile like you'd expected him to, which meant that whatever happened must have been pretty bad. "Kidnapped by demons." He said. "We got to you as fast as we could." He added quickly, as if you would have thought to blame them. The thought was ridiculous to you, but you didn't say anything about it. "You were, uh...you were pretty nearly dead when we got there but Cas patched you up alright." He continued, voice soft like he was afraid to startle you.
You turned to look at Cas, whose concern had melted on seeing you awake and turned into an exhaustion at least as thorough as yours. Bringing you back from the very edge of death had taken a lot of out him, and you felt a rush of gratitude. "Thanks, buddy." You said softly, the severity of the situation starting to settle over you. He nodded and tipped his head against the window on the other side of the back seat of the Impala. He'd made the decision to rest, and it was looking like you'd follow his example, whether you meant to or not. You struggled to stay awake a few moments longer. "Thanks for coming to get me, you guys." You murmured, your head becoming heavy as you carefully adjusted yourself into a position that didn't hurt quite so much.
You didn't hear their response.
x...x...x...x
Everything was so, so bright. Eyes as black as the night met yours, mocking you, only holding your focus until you were stabbed again. There were at least two of them, you knew that for sure, and your lips curled into a determined sneer as you tried to catch your breath. You wouldn't give them the satisfaction of hearing you beg. Not if you could help it.
"Just tell us where your little friends are holed up." The woman in front of you sounded so calm, so reasonable. You wanted to break her neck. She twirled the knife in her hand.
"Bite me." You spat back. She let out a disapproving noise and looked at you as if you were a child who had done something naughty.
"If you insist." She said then, expression melting into a wicked grin as she flung herself at you and-
You shot awake, almost hitting your head on the back of the driver's seat, hands scrabbling for one of the weapons tucked into your clothing even though you knew they'd all been taken away. That failing, you shifted further inside the car, blood pounding in your ears, your only thought to get away from the open door.
"Hey, hey." The voice registered as Dean's at the same time as you recognized that it was him standing between you and freedom. It was low and even, and he was crouched over so he could meet your eyes even as you were so far into the car. "'s just me." He paused for a moment as you tried to catch your breath, reaching a hand hesitantly toward you when you seemed to be calming down. "You good?"
The words hardly processed. Your mind was whirling and the breaths that you thought you had gotten under control were starting to ramp back up again. The dregs of your memory-gone-nightmare were sticking around just enough to make even Dean's steady presence seem like a threat, and you were trapped and unarmed. You could hardly hear him even though you could see his mouth moving, still trying to talk to you, and your vision blurred just slightly as you scrambled backward to the other car door, desperate to get out. Your hand found the latch and you got out, quickly tumbling to the asphalt parking lot before you could get shaky legs under you. Everything hurt. You couldn't breathe. That was it, then. Made it out of a demon torture pit just to asphyxiate in some parking lot.
Dean was kneeling in front of you in a moment, not knowing what to do. You were hyperventilating now, and at this rate it wouldn't be long until you passed out. He reached forward, slowly enough that you weren't at all surprised by his hand when it lightly grabbed your wrist, and pulled your hand forward to rest on his chest.
"[y/n], you need to breathe." He said, the rumble you could feel through shaking fingers helping to ground you ever so slightly. "Here. In..." He took a deep breath in, and you could feel his chest expand under your palm. You struggled to gulp air in, deciding it was a close enough match. "Out." He continued, letting out the breath and encouraging you to do the same. As you seemed to get a little more comfortable with his presence, he shifted forward until he was sitting directly in front of you, you slumped against his chest, and then turned you around so you were sitting between his splayed legs on the asphalt, back tucked against his chest, his chin resting gently on your shoulder. He continued to guide you with both his words and with his pattern of breathing that you could now feel as if it were a part of you, and you slowly came back down to a pace that would get you the proper amount of oxygen. You gulped air in, and managed to hold on for a moment before collapsing into sobs. He continued to hold you, leaning against the Impala's back tire and gently rubbing your back. "'s alright now, [y/n]. You're safe. Sammy and I came to get you and we won't let them take you again." He murmured against your hair. You clung to his shirt, terrified to let go, not wanting to know what would happen, and tried to ground yourself to his heartbeat. He continued to mumble reassurances. Sam came to the door of the hotel room they had checked out for the night, a concerned and questioning look on his face, and took a couple steps toward where the pair of you sat on the ground before Dean shook his head slightly, asking his brother to let him handle this.
"I'm...god, I'm s-sorry." You managed to get out between sobs, struggling for air but less so than before. "S-should be k-k-keeping my shit to-together, but-"
Dean cut you off with a soft shushing noise. "You're fine. You're alright." He soothed, voice still completely calm, a beacon in the storm that was currently tossing you around. "'s happened to people plenty stronger than you. But the bastards are dead now, and you're back safe with us. It's okay." He said, kissing you softly on the temple as your sobs died down. You were limp and exhausted against his chest, and he cradled you gently to him.
"I woke you up because we're here now." He said, gesturing to the slightly less crappy than usual hotel. He started to carefully stand up, helping you up with him. "Let's get you into an actual bed. You can sleep this off and be good as new before you know it." He smiled slightly, trying to reassure you, and you attempted to smile back. It wasn't long until you were unconscious again, this time tucked in snugly against Dean's body, knowing that he wouldn't let any more harm come to you. It was safe here