Author's Note: I am very excited to present to you the sequel to my story Protection! I've got big plans for Nicole and Adam and I can't wait for you to read. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
Prologue
She couldn't recall if it really had been raining that day or if she had just wanted it to be raining to reflect how broken she felt as she stood next to Sam and Dean Winchester watching the flames consume Adam's body. Tears had rolled down her cheeks as Sam placed a hand on her shoulder.
I should have been there, she kept berating herself. I was supposed to protect him. I was only gone for a few days, helping Dad with a hunt but I should have stayed with Adam. I should have been there to keep him safe.
The last two years, Nicole had finished high school and gone on to U of M with Adam. They shared an apartment near the campus; she held a job at the school bookstore, he worked at the nearby coffee house. He knew all about her life and how she had come to Windom to protect him though she hadn't been on a hunt since the vampire attack. Then, one weekend, her father called, asking for help on a case not far from them. Adam had insisted that she go, he would be fine, he would be careful.
If only she hadn't listened to him.
She came home to an empty apartment though she hadn't panicked until she read the note taped to the refrigerator. Mom's missing. Went home. It was sloppy and hurried; Adam had been in a hurry.
But she wasn't fast enough. She sped down the highway, blew every red light. Tears streaming down her face as she buzzed through town after town. She tried calling his cell several times but never got an answer. Her chest constricted with pain as she felt a hole opening inside her. By the time she got to Windom, the ghouls had done their damage and Sam and Dean were cleaning up the mess of Adam's former home. Nicole had helped retrieve Adam's body from the crypt all the while feeling the emptiness weigh down on her.
She couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks and racking her body. Without Adam, she only had one thing left in life.
She had wiped her eyes, which still revealed her broken heart but her shoulders squared and her mouth was set with grim determination, "I heard talk of you guys trying to stop the apocalypse."
Sam and Dean exchanged a glance before Sam had said, "Nicole, if you need time..."
"I want to help," Nicole declared. "Now that Adam's gone-" she fought back the tears, "Hunting is all I know, all I have left. I want to help. I need to help."