This story is dedicated to and made possible thanks to my dear friend DamonsGirl92. After she got me hooked on SPN this year, I started this story just over a month ago and she was kind enough to be my beta right from the start. Then, even better, she became an official co-author and has written many chunks of this tale. We've had an amazing time putting this together, collaborating via Google docs as we wrote and edited. Many, many late night and early morning brainstorming sessions and about ten thousand texts have produced this story.

We hope you will enjoy and we thank you for taking the time to read. We'd love to hear from you so let us know what you think! :)

PS We own nothing. Make no money from this. Just enjoy everything Supernatural.

This story is set in current time, although it is almost in a 'bubble' as it doesn't really interact with the ongoing storylines in S9...

RING AROUND THE ROSES

Dirt.

No air. No breath. Just suffocating dirt. The smell of it, the feel of it. Clogging nostrils, filling mouth; grainy and heavy against the eyes. Unable to move. Heart jolted as if jump started. A silent scream leading to sheer panic as the scream only allowed more dirt to fill her mouth.

She pushed against the wall of dirt, hands desperately scrabbling at the obstruction above her, around her. Blackness, oppressive and painful, heavy as the dirt all around her, threatened to bring unconsciousness. Breathe. She needed to breathe. Her entire body spasmed, the fear giving her strength enough to send her hands through whatever she was trapped under. Hands moved freely in open space. Stinging, painful sensations assaulted her fingers. Her abdominal muscles clenched and she shot upright, face pushing past the dirt.

Rain smacked her face as it had her hands. Each drop that hit her face burned like a hot coal. Choking, coughing, spitting dirt out of her mouth, she gasped in fresh air. Heaving in huge breaths, she looked around. She was sitting in dirt. A shallow pit? A grave? Her heart clenched and she doubled over with the pain, feeling dizzy as she hyperventilated. She couldn't understand why the rain hurt so much. Or where she was or why she was sitting in dirt.

Breath squeezing in and out against a raw throat and tight chest, she tried to focus on her surroundings. Grey sky. Trees in the periphery. A gravestone to her right. And ahead of her. And all around her. Body already in fight or flight mode, she had no more panic or surprise to give at the moment, so she just tried to take in her surroundings. A graveyard. Why was she in a graveyard? She looked down, her lower half still under loose dirt. She'd been buried. Buried alive in a graveyard.

Shakily, she tried to get up, discovered she only had strength to drag herself onto her stomach and roll away from the dirt pile. Huddled on her side, she looked up and realized she'd been buried next to a simple gravestone. Been buried. The thought sent a vicious shiver through her body. Shaking her head, she stared at the simple gravestone. The very simple gravestone. It bore no name, simply the epitaph Pestis Pestis.

The rain increased and now it felt like ice instead of heat. Her head hurt and the words blurred in front of her. Pestis Pestis. What did that mean? Why was she here? And most terrifying of all, who was she? No name. No memories. Body aching, she groaned and pushed herself into a sitting position. Her stomach rolled and she retched into the pit next to her. The grave she'd just crawled out of. Nothing came up, just the awful pain of her guts trying to turn themselves inside out. She couldn't remember when she had last eaten. Along with everything else she couldn't remember.

She wiped her hand across her mouth and realized there was something on her arm. Squinting, she brushed her fingers across the letters on her skin. It was a name and an address. Cut into her skin. It made her retch again. But retching into a pit of dirt was doing squat for her, so she read the name and address again and used the gravestone to pull herself to her feet. She had a name and an address. A plan. And a plan in hand was worth two in the bush.

She stood at the side of the road and shivered in the sleety cold rain. She might have a name and an address but she was currently in the middle of the backside of the vastest nothingness she'd ever seen. A street sign proclaimed her to be standing two miles from Bennett, South Dakota, population 383. Among her many issues, she didn't look like the type of person someone in their right mind would want to pick up. The rain had been washing much of the dirt and filth off of her, but she could feel the grime in her hair and on her skin and didn't want to think how awful she must look. Glancing down, she tried vainly to smooth the mashed fabric of the grey dress into something more presentable. The dress might have once been white, but it was just as grimy as the rest of her and not a single part of it hung right on her body. There would be no chance in a million that anyone would pick her up.

That terrible thought echoing in her mind, she heard a car in the near distance. Growing closer. She needed to get into that car. Needed to get to Sioux Falls. Desperation pushed against the sides of her mind. With each passing second, the car grew closer and the desperation only became more pressing and painful. She had to do something. Had to get into that car.

As it drew closer, her anxiety increased. Squeezing her eyes closed for a moment, something sparked in her head. A flash of remembrance. It wasn't a name; wasn't a memory of who she was, where she'd come from. It was an instinct.

She opened her eyes and saw a peaceful lake. It hadn't been there a moment before and might have been confusing to most people, but it was comforting to her. She remembered the lake. The car was almost to her now and she drew an easier breath.

She remembered what she could do.

Phillip Renkon felt pretty good. He'd had a good day at work and now looked forward to a good evening at home with his new bride of one and a half months. He had roses beside him and couldn't wait to give them to Leah. Humming with the inane background music on the radio, he flipped on the windshield wipers as the rain grew heavier. Squinting, he thought he saw someone standing on the side of the road. A girl. She stood next to a nice sporty coupe with a flat tire. A bright umbrella over her head, her boots coordinated with her raincoat.

The girl waved and he slowed. He eased over to the side of the road and hit the button to unroll the passenger window. The girl smiled and leaned down to the window. "Hi! Could I get a lift?"

Phillip wanted to get home, but he couldn't just leave the pretty girl standing there with a flat. He smiled, "Sure. A bit of bad luck, I see."

"Yes, it isn't my day at all." She grinned, opening the door and getting in, folding up the umbrella and setting it on the floor. "I'd really appreciate it. I need to get into Sioux Falls as soon as I can."

"Uh, Sioux Falls?" Phillip eased the car back onto the road.

"Yes." The girl's smile was bright. "I'm meeting a very special someone for dinner." She pointed at the roses, "I think you understand what it's like to have a special someone."

Phillip grinned, "Just married a month and a half ago."

"Congratulations! I'm sure you are in a hurry to get home to your lovely wife." She pursed her pretty pink lips and tilted her head, "I don't want to put you out, you're so kind to have stopped. I'm afraid I was a bit lost. Is Sioux Falls very far? I'm not sure where I am."

"Oh, it's a couple hours away, give or take." Phillip said, glancing at his watch. "Huh."

The girl smiled quizzically, "What is it?"

"It's just, the time, it seems...I mean I thought it was almost six thirty, but it's only just three." Phillip thought for a moment, then as if a switch had been flipped, he remembered, "Oh, yeah, I got out of work early. That's why. So, I can help you out. I've actually got plenty of time to take you to Sioux Falls."

The girl twisted her neatly curled hair in her fingers and smiled, "So it's my lucky day after all!"

Phillip grinned and turned down the turnpike toward Sioux Falls.

She felt the headache spike as soon as he agreed to take her to Sioux Falls. Changing his perception of the time hurt. Keeping him from hearing his ringing cell phone hurt. Keeping the pretty picture of her as a classy but helpless lady on the side of the road in order to convince the guy to take her where she needed to go wasn't easy. Her nose was bleeding already and that only made one more thing she had to keep up with in painting her picture. She could make him see her as whatever she wanted, she could even make him think it was earlier than it was, but she couldn't make time go faster. An hour was an hour and an hour keeping this illusion up might just kill her.

"There you go, miss." Phillip smiled as he pulled up in front of a two-story house she had pointed him to when they'd come into Sioux Falls. "You and your friend have a great evening, ok?"

She smiled that beautiful smile again as she got out of the car and put up her umbrella. "Thank you so much, Phillip. I don't know what I would have done without your help. You and Leah have a lovely evening as well! Drive safe."

He nodded and waved, pulling back around to head home.

She waited until he had vanished, then let the painting fade and allowed herself to collapse to her knees in complete exhaustion. She had to get away from this area. This wasn't the house she needed and it wouldn't be very long before Phillip realized how late it was. She didn't want to be around when he came looking for her. Of course, he wasn't going to ever see the pretty girl with the coordinated raingear again. Her strength was completely gone after painting that picture.

Stumbling on jelly-like legs, she felt the blood stream down her face and neck from her nose. She'd snatched a map from the guy's car and managed to look up the shortest route to the address that had been cut into her arm. Two blocks. Two blocks was all she had to walk. Two blocks felt like a million miles in her current condition. But she had to get there. Because she didn't know who she was or why she had woken up buried in a nondescript grave.

All she had was that address and the name on her arm.

So she tripped over her bare feet, slipped on the rain-slicked roads and choked on her own blood. Each step felt like a thousand pokers sticking her insides. She turned a corner and finally saw the house she was looking for. Cute. Simple. Fresh and homey looking. She had hoped, expected even, to recognize it, but she didn't. Just more blackness and confusion.

The door blurred and wavered as she walked closer to it. She had nothing left in her to even attempt to paint another picture. She just hoped that whoever opened the door either was someone who knew her or a saint who would take in a filthy stray.

Sunday, 2040

Sioux Falls, SD

The water temperature felt perfect. Jody Mills dumped in a few more lavender bath crystals and grinned. Sunday night. Hot bath. Candles. Soft jazz and a glass of wine with a good book. Nothing better. Phone was turned off and she was ready to enjoy some long-awaited luxury.

"Oh, crap." She frowned as she heard the doorbell ring. "Now what?"

Half tempted to ignore the annoyance and just get in the tub, she sighed. Some people said she had a responsible streak a mile wide. Apparently it wasn't something you could just ignore. So Jody looked longingly at the tub, took a sip of wine and headed out to answer the door. Probably Annie from next door with another complaint about George and his never ending late night visitors. Jody was beyond irritated with George and his inability to keep his private life private, but another complaint from Annie would be just more than she could take tonight. Annie needed to learn to shut her blinds.

Opening the door, Jody prepared to send Annie packing. But it wasn't Annie on her doorstep. Jody gasped as she took in the sight of the unsteady young woman shivering on her porch. It was difficult to tell her age but Jody estimated late twenties. Her dark hair was matted and filthy; like the rest of her. Dress shredded, ill fitting and almost black. The girls face was sheet white under the filth and the blood flowing from her nose. Her bloodshot eyes settled on Jody's face. The girl's expression of pained confusion flickered to one of hope.

Jody opened the screen door, heart pounding. She'd dealt with victims of all types of crimes over the years. Something heinous had happened to the girl and it didn't look like she would be able to stand up much longer. But Jody didn't want to frighten her so she smiled, extended a hand and said gently, "You're safe here."

The girl reached out desperately to grab Jody's arm. Jody met her dark eyes and started to speak, but the girl interrupted her first.

Voice hoarse and whisper soft, she said, "I need your help."

"Come inside. I'll do anything I can to help you." Jody said. The girl wavered slightly, but held onto consciousness and Jody's arm. Jody reached out to put her arm around the girl's shaking shoulders. "You're half frozen! How long have you been out in the rain?"

She didn't answer, just melted into Jody's embrace. Jody locked the door behind them and aimed her for a kitchen chair. She wasn't steady on her feet and Jody didn't want to have to pick her up off the floor. "Here, here you go. Sit down right here, honey."

Sitting down heavily on the chair, the girl wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed her eyes closed. Jody ran to the living room for a blanket and put it around the girl; alarmed at how much blood was smeared down her face, neck, and the front of her dress. Wouldn't you know I'd have out the nice white napkins tonight? Jody grabbed one and pressed it to the girl's nose.

"I'm Jody Mills." Jody said, brushing dirty strands of hair back from the girls pale face. Her skin was ice cold. "Can you tell me your name?"

Dark eyes looked up fearfully.

Jody smiled, "It's ok. I'm the sheriff in town. I can help you, but it would help me if I knew your name and if you could tell me what happened to you."

The girl's voice was muffled, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Jody frowned, looking closer at the girl's eyes. Pupils blown, eyes red rimmed. Could be drugs, concussion, sleep deprivation, any number of things. "Did you hit your head?"

"I don't know." Tears sprang into her eyes and she pulled back from Jody's hand. "I can't….I just...I woke up."

"Woke up?" This wasn't sounding good. Too many young women arrived at the station having awakened in a strange place with no memories of a night that typically started out with a few friendly drinks and ended in tragedy. "Do you remember where you were earlier today?"

Another shake of her head. "Nothing. I can't remember anything."

"Ok. It's ok, honey. We can figure it out." Jody smiled, hoping she really would be able to figure it out. She asked, "How did you know to come to my house?"

The girl pushed the blanket back and rubbed a hand over her arm. She held her arm up to Jody. Jody looked down and her heart skipped a beat when she saw her name and address scratched into the girl's skin. The situation had just gone from awful to creepy. Really creepy. Jody frowned and said, "How...how in the world..."

The girl looked up and interrupted Jody. She said, "Bobby sent me."